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•'  When  I  opened  my  eyes  they  were  enjoying  a  dance."    Page  15. 


Autumn   Leaves: 


BY  CHRISTIE  CRUST. 


"  The  maples  redden  in  the  sun, 
In  autumn  gold  the  beeches  stand." 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


PORTLAND: 

PRESS  OF  B.  THURSTON  AND  COMPANY. 
1875. 


COPYRIGHT  SECURED. 


^ebitntion. 


IN   ENTIRE   F0RGETKULNE3S   OF  THE  FEW  DAYS  TO  BE  REGRETTED, 
AND   PLEASANT   REMEMBRANCE   OF  ALL    OTHER    SCHOOL- 
DAYS,  THIS   LITTLE   BOOK   IS 

AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATED   TO    MY   PUPILS, 

WHEREVER  THEY   MAY   BE, 

BUT   MOST   ESPECIALLY   TO   THAT   LITTLE    BAND    THAT    FOLLOWED 

MY   VARIED   FORTUNES   SO   FAITHFULLY    AFTER    THAT 

TERRIBLE   CALAMITY,   THE   CHICAGO   FIRE. 

AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


For  the  few  following  pages,  the  history  of  an  imaginary  journey 
into  Switzerland,  the  author  begs  a  liberal  share  of  forbearance 
from  a  criticising  public. 

Her  school  was  not  a  graded  one,  so  are  not  the  chapters ;  some 
of  them  being  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  "  Children  of  a  larger 
growth,"  while  others  will  only  interest  the  very  youngest. 

The  stories  related  of  animals  are  new  and  true ;  the  illustra- 
tions, for  the  most  part  original. 

In  some  cases,  credit  may  not  have  been  given  to  the  proper  au- 
thorities, and  the  reader  is  referred  to  Wood's  Natural  Histories, 
as  well  as  to  "  Man  and  Beast "  by  the  same  author,  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Americana,  etc. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I. — Walks  and  Talks  among  the  Leaves,       .        .  ^ 

Chapter  II. — The  Baker's  Dozen,           ....  21 

Chapter  III. — Helvetia 27 

Chapter  IV. — Cimo  and  Chestnuts,         .        .        .'        .  33 

Chapter  V. — Nonna's  Fairy  Story, 39 

Chapter  VI. — Nonna's  Fairy  Story, — continued,     .        .  49 

Chapter  VII. — Nonna's  Fairy  Story, — concluded,       .        .  52 

Chafier  VIII.— Chip, 57 

Chapter  IX. — Agno, 67 

Chapter  X. — Eliza  and  her  Cats 80 

Chapter  XI. — Luganno  and  John's  Letter,          ...  91 

Chapter  XII.— Mountains loi 

Chapter  XIII. — Charming  the  Bear, \\z 

Chapter  XIV.— William  Tell, 125 

Chapter  XV. — Creep, 133 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Dance  of  the  Acorns, Frontispiece. 

Baker's  Dozen, 21 

Swiss  Kitchen, 33 

Walter  Flying  Away  in  the  Moonlight,       ....  39 

The  Rat  Bringing  the  Ring, 49 

Walter's  Wedding  Tour, 57 

Eliza, 81 

Her  Cats, 9* 

Devil's  Bridge, loi 

Brownies  Charming  a  Bear, 113 

I 


CHAPTER     I. 

AUTUMN    LEAVES, 

What  a  long  walk !  I'm  very  tired,  but  I've 
got  them,  dear  children — these  autumn  leaves. 

See!  Maple,  beech,  oak,  chestnut,  woodbine, 
sumach,  dogwood,  besides  all  these  smaller  ones. 

I  have  walked,  oh,  so  far!  It  may  be  they 
might  have  been  gathered  nearer,  picked  up,  per- 
haps, in  the  street,  but  they  would  have  been  torn 
and  dusty.  You  will  like  them  better  fresh  from 
the  woods,  I  think. 

Look  at  the  rich  colors  of  this  maple  !  One  half 
is  bright  yellow,  shading  into  gold  mingled  with 
crimson  ;  the  other,  clear  crimson. 

Here  is  another,  green,  yellow,  and  crimson ; 
and  still  another ;  smaller,  more  delicately  cut — a 
bright  scarlet.  This  beech,  too,  what  a  clear  bright 
yellow  *  it  is. 


*  The  author  learned  after  the  above  was  written  that,  as  a  rule, 
the  beech  is  brown  in  autumn ;  occasionally,  but  rarely,  it  is  as 
golden  as  the  birch. 


8  WALKS  AND    TALKS 

Oh !  do  not  push  that  one  away.     It's  all  brown 

to  be  sure,  but  its  a  beautiful  brown,  a  rich  cuir 
(queer)  color.  Examine  its  fiber.  How  firm  and 
glossy — the  oak — strong  as  the  tree  it  fell  from. 

Yes,  I  walked  all  the  way  out  and  back.  Mus- 
cles are  a  little  tired,  but  they'll  be  fresher  to-mor- 
row. 

All  alone } 

On  my  way  back  I  overtook  a  washerwoman, 
sitting  on  a  bank,  waiting  for  the  horse  cars. 

She  asked  me  "  If  I  knew  where  was  the  horse 
cars,  and  bes  you  going  to  walk  ? "  And  thought, 
perhaps,  I  had  been  out  washing. 
.  When  I  told  her  that  I  had  not  been  out  wash- 
ing, didn't  know  where  the  horse  cars  were,  and  I 
was  going  to  walk,  she  thought,  "  may  be,  she  would 
have  company,  and  she  might  as  well  walk  too,  and 
so  save  her  fare." 

"  Tin  cints  didn't  grow  on  every  bush,  shure." 

Alone !  It  is  pleasant  to  be  alone  sometimes, 
one  can  think  better.  I  didn't  mind  the  woman 
though. 

She  told  me  how  many  children  she  had,  and 
how  many  she  had  buried. 


AMONG    THE  LEAVES.  9 

Poor  thing  !     Four  were  living  and  seven  dead  ! 

Think  of  that,  children  ;  you  that  have  good 
homes  ;  seven  dead  !  Because,  perhaps,  the  poor 
woman  could  not  care  for  them  as  she  ought. 

She  said  "  It  was  hard  to  leave  them  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  she  did  not  know  what  might  happen  to 
them  before  night.  The  railroad  might  run  over 
them,  or  matches  set  them  on  fire,  or  they  might 
get  in  some  mischief,  or  something." 

"  Often  she  made  four  or  five  dollars  a  week." 

"She  had  a  bilious  hall  to  clean  nixt." 

We  didn't  keep  together  long,  but  may  be  her 
walk  seemed  a  little  shorter ;  I  hope  so.  At  any 
rate  she  kept  her  ticket. 

Yes,  I  have  walked  a  long  way  to  gather  these 
leaves  for  you. 

Fifty  years  is  a  long  time  to  look  forward  to, 
isn't  it .''  and — it's  a  long  walk  to  look  back  upon. 

They  are  autumn  leaves,  vtdeed,  that  I  bring 
you,  and  I  hope  you  will  greet  them  as  kindly  as 
they  were  gathered.  They  may  not  all  be  perfect. 
Such  are  not  often  found. 

Some  are  brown  with  age  ;    do  not  reject  them 


10  WALKS  AND  TALKS 

for  the  brighter  colors.  History  is  healthy  reading. 
I  only  wish  the  chapters  you  find  may  lead  you  to 
seek  for  more. 

The  walk  has  been  a  long  one !  Strangers  have 
been  met  and  overtaken,  I  hope  with  pleasant  greet- 
ings and  words  of  encouragement.  Here  are  your 
leaves !  Some  I  took  from  the  trees  ;  some  fell  to 
me  ;  and  some  I  picked  from  the  ground. 

Oh  !  yes  ;  I  enjoyed  gathering  them.  It  is  very 
delightful  to  be  among  trees  at  any  time,  but  now, 
when  they  are  arrayed  in  such  gorgeous  robes,  the 
eye  is  scarcely  satisfied  with  gazing.  Nowhere  else 
is  decay  lovely,  save  when  the  smile  of  the  Great 
Spirit  beams  from  the  face  of  the  aged. 

I  had  scarcely  written  this  last  sentence  when  a 
maple  leaf  whispered —  , 

"  /  know  a  nice  story  !  " 

Is  it  true .-'  Where  did  you  hear  it }  Who 
told  you  .''  I  asked. 

"  It  is  true.  The  tree  told  it  to  me.  Do  not  be 
afraid  when  I  repeat  it." 

"  Two  of  our  ancestors,  twin  brothers,  angels 
with  beautiful  green  wings,  were  buried  alive  ! " 


AMONG   THE  LEAVES.  H 

What  for  ?  I  asked,  almost  suffocated  at  the 
idea. 

"  For  no  reason,  that  they  knew,*'  it  replied. 
"  They  were  buried  in  the  damp,  cold  ground, 
among  worms  and  creeping  things,  without  light, 
and  for  all  they  knew,  without  food — nothing  but 
water!" 

How  strange ! 

"  Yes  ;  they  lay  quite  still  for  a  while.  Any  of 
us  would,  I  think,  we  should  have  been  so  frighten- 
ed ;  besides,  it  was  no  use  to  cry,  for  nobody  could 
hear  them,  and  so  they  lay  pctfectly  still,  asking  no 
questions,  making  no  complaints  ;  kept  from  faint- 
ing by  the  water,  which  was  allowed  them  in 
abundance  ;  fast  hold  of  each  others  hands  they  lay 
— in  that  dark  tomb — each  knowing  that  the  other 
was  alive,  and  that  was  all !" 

"  Wasn't  it  a  fearful  time  ?" 

Yes,  I  answered,  almost  too  much  shocked  to 
to  speak.  If  they  had  committed  any  terrible 
crime,  I  could  understand'  why  they  should  be  so 
punished ;  but,  angels  with  real  wings  as  they  were, 
it  seems  unaccountable !     It  was  a  little  cheerful. 


12  WALKS  AND    TALK'S 

though,  not  to  have  been  entirely  alone.  One  might 
have  lost  heart  altogether,  not  even  have  been  able 
lo  drink ! 

"  I  think  not,"  said  the  leaf.  "  I  know  several 
stick  cases  ;  the  trees  all  tell  pretty  much  the  same 
story,  which  makes  me  think  it  must  be  true. 
There's  the  oak,  a  very  trustworthy  tree,  says  he  had 
but  one  ancestor  which  was  treated  in  the  same 
way,  only,  if  anything,  he  was  kept  longer  in  the 
prison.     But  you  look  horrified !  " 

I  am,  to  think  of  the  wickedness  going  on  in 
the  world !  But,  I  am  impatient  to  hear  the  rest. 
Did  they  escape,  or  were  they  released  ? 

"  They  escaped,  in  this  way.  After  they  had 
lain  still  awhile,  they  began  to  feel  such  a  terrible 
energy  stirring  them,  that  they  tore  themselves 
apart,  and  they  grew  so  hungry  as  to  eat  their  own 
beautiful  wings  !  Then,  some  strange  looking  feet 
were  given  them,  that  seemed  inclined  to  push  far- 
ther and  farther  down  into  the  earth  in  search  of 
water,  to  satisfy  an  unnatural  craving  that  had 
taken  possession  of  them." 

"Nothing  more  occurred  that  was  unpleasant. 


AMONG    THE  LEAVES.  13 

As  the  saying  is,  '  They  soon  got  their  heads  above 
water.'  By  their  own  energy,  they  pushed  their 
way  up  into  the  light,  and,  lo  !  two  other  lovely,  soft 
green  wings  began  to  grow !  Year  after  year,  since 
then,  they  have  grown  taller  and  stouter  ;  wings 
innumerable,  lift  themselves  to  the  breezes  from 
their  strong  arms,  receiving  the  light  and  the  dews 
from  heaven,  and  shedding  gladness  and  beauty  all 
around." 

Bend  your  heads,  dear  children,  and  lift  your 
hearts  up  to  the  Lord,  for  the  lesson  that  the 
story  told  by  the  leaf  teaches  us.  Never  despair. 
Even  in  the  darkest,  most  disagreeable  prison- 
house  of  earth,  God  watches  over  his  children  to 
protect  them,  If  they  are  wayward,  he  punishes, 
if  he  cannot  allure  them.  In  inercy  he  punishes, 
that  they  may  not  fail  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  things 
he  has  in  store  for  them. 

The  leaves  all  raised  their  heads  as  soon  as  the 
maple  had  finished. 

All  testified  to  the  truth  of  what  it  had  said, 
and  when  I  asked  them  who  told  this  strange  story, 
each  made  the  same  reply,  "  The  tree  told  me." 


14  WALKS  AND    TALKS 

Such  a  long  line  of  traditionary  evidence  it  would 
not  be  fair  to  doubt,  I  thought,  but  it  will  do  no 
harm  to  enquire  about  it,  so  I  asked  the  oak  what 
he  knew  of  himself 

The  leaves  all  grew  very  still  at  this,  fearing  lest 
they  might  lose  a  word  of  what  this  monarch  of  the 
forest  might  say. 

The  tree — I  shall  never  forget  how  grand  and 
solemn  he  looked — and  what  a  sigh  came  out  of  his 
great  heart  at  the  remembrance  of  this  dark  time 
in  his  history  ;  but  he  immediately  recovered  his 
cheerful  look,  shook  his  stout  arms,  and  sent  down 
a  whole  shower  of  acorns  upon  my  poor  head  ! 

How  fat,  and  green,  and  saucy  they  all  looked, 
nestled  in  those  scaly  cups  !  All  but  one ! 

What  is  the  matter  with  this  one  ?  I  asked, 
this  one  with  the  hollow  cheek  and  flat  nose  ? 

The  oak  put  on  that  solemn  look  again,  and,  in 
very  low,  hollow  tones,  said — "Too  many  ques- 
tions ! " 

At  this,  the  other  trees  fairly  clapped  their 
hands,  and  rustle^  all  their  leaves.  At  the  same 
time,  a  great  wind  blew  all  the  fallen  ones,  with  the 


AMONG    THE  LEAVES.  16 

sick  acorn,  away  up  into  the  air,  completely  out  of 
sight. 

I  shut  my  eyes  in  thought.  "  Too  many  ques_ 
tions  ! "  What  did  this  mean  }  Can  children  ask 
too  many  questions .-'  Is  that  what  he  meant  .<* 
Do  not  so  any  more,  then,  children.  Do  not  worry 
your  parents  when  you  see  they  are  "very  busy,  with 
any  questions,  I  think  now,  of  what  a  very  well- 
bred  little  boy  said  on  one  occasion.  It  is  a  short 
story  which  will  interest  you  I  think. 

Natie  had  learned,  somewhere,  that  when  he 
wanted  anything  it  was  very  right  to  pray  to  the 
good  God  to  give  it  to  him.  So  one  day  he  wanted 
a  horse,  and  he  stopped  right  in  the  midst  of  his 
play,  put  his  hands  together,  looked  up,  and  said : 
"  Please,  dear  God,  make  me  a  horse.  I've  got  a 
tail."  Just  then  there  came  a  clap  of  thunder — it 
was  in  the  summer  time — and  he  quickly  added: 
"  Oh  !  you're  busy  now  and  I  will  wait."  Perhaps 
he  forgot  about  his  horse  when  the  shower  was 
over.  The  little  fellow  soon  went  where  there 
were  more  beautiful  things  than  he  had  ever 
thought  of,  that  he  did  not  even  need  to  ask  for. 


16  WALKS  AND    TALKS 

There  are  many  questions  that  children  ask 
which  they  can  answer  themselves,  if  they  will  stop 
to  think  a  minute.  You  have  all  heard  of  that 
great  teacher  who  came  to  us  from  Switzerland, 
whom  all  the  money  of  the  French  courts  could 
not  attract  from  us  ;  partly,  perhaps,  because  he 
loved  the  freedom  of  this  country,  and  partly  be- 
cause he  could  be  more  useful  here — Agassiz  :  Let 
every  little  boy  raise  his  hat  in  his  presence,  and 
every  little  girl  look  up.  for  he  was  as  kind  as  he 
was  learned.  Well,  when  men  and  women  went  to 
him  to  be  taught,  he  answered  not  their  questions, 
but  placed  one  of  God's  works  before  them,  and 
told  them  to  look — study  for  themselves.  All  day, 
and  two  days,  he  would  have  them  look  at  a  fish, 
or  a  worm,  or  a  leaf,  or  at  whatever  they  had  come 
to  him  to  learn  about.  When  they  had  studied 
long  enough  to  ask  the  right  questions,  they  could 
in  most  cases  answer  for  themselves. 

This  must  be,  I  thought,  what  the  oak  meant 
partly.  Be  sure,  children,  and  obey  your  parents ; 
tell  the  truth  ;  eat  plenty  of  bread  and  butter  ;  use 
your  eyes  and  ears  more,  and  your  tongues  less  ; 


AMONG    THE  LEAVES.  17 

Study  the  habits  of  the  birds  and  the  bees,  the 
worms,  the  spiders,  the  ants,  in  short,  make  friends 
with  every  thing  that  lives ;  love  the  Creator,  and 
be  as  happy  as  those  plump  acorns,  that,  when  I 
opened  my  eyes,  had  all  taken  to  themselves  legs, 
and  were  enjoying  a  dance — the  last  of  the  season 
perhaps — in  Dame  Nature's  capacious  well-venti- 
lated hall,  which  was  lighted  in  its  remotest  cor- 
ners by  that  old-fashioned  lamp,  the  Harvest  moon. 

But,  dear  me!  I  must  have  fallen  asleep  and 
dreamed  that,  about  the  acorn's  dancing.  I  never 
heard  of  such  a  thing  T  am  sure. 

I  am  wide  awake  enough  now,  and  if  any  other 
leaf  or  tree  has  a  story,  I  am  ready  to  listen.  Well, 
Mr.  Birch,  I  used  to  know  you  very  well,  but,  I  de- 
clare, we  do  make  mistakes  when  we  haven't  seen 
one  for  a  long  time,  and  are  getting  old  too.  Yes, 
I  remember  you  now  very  well.  You  are  uncom- 
monly good  looking  for  the  season.  Yellow  is  a 
very  becoming  color,  I  think  I  like  it  even  better 
than  green. 

"  I'm  glad  you  like  it  ;  it's  rather  warmer  for  the 
autumn,  I  think,  and   then  it   harmonizes   better 


18  WALKS  AND   TALK'S 

with  the  colors  the  other  leaves  have  put  on  ;  you 
know  one  likes  to  be  in  the  fashion  somewhat.  I 
feel  a  little  timid  about  speaking,  and  I  do  not 
know  as  I  shall  express  the  minds  of  all  my  rela- 
tions— the  family  is  a  large  one — but  I  do  think  we 
are  treated  more  unkindly  than  either  the  oak  or 
the  maple — put  to  more  disagreeable  uses  I  mean 
— not  at  this  season  of  the  year,  but  when  we  are 
green  and  tender." 

Ah  !  I  was  not  aware. 

"  Well,  yes  ;  I  never  was,. but  some  of  my  friends 
have  been,  boiled  ;  it  is  too  disgusting  to  speak  of, 
but  they  were  absolutely  boiled  with  pork  and  eaten 
for  greens  !  Then,  too,  you've  heard  of '  birch  tea,' 
given  to  bad  boys  occasionally." 

I  pitied  the  last  speaker.  I  shouldn't  like  to  be 
treated  that  way  myself. 

Mr.  Beech  :  "  Mr.  President,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men." Mr.  Beech  was  greeted  with  a  round  of 
applause.  He  evidently  had  something  to  say. 
When  the  tumult  had  subsided  which  his  appear- 
ance had  caused,  he  said,  "  I  rise — Mr.  President, 
ladies  and  gentlemen."     He  was  very  particular  to 


AMONG    THE  LEAVES.  19 

repeat  his  first  formula.  His  throat  did  not  seem 
to  be  in  quite  a  good  speaking  condition,  and  I  was 
very  much  afraid  he  had  forgotten  what  he  meant 
to  say,  and  I  thought  I  might  as  well,  while  he  was 
getting  ready,  correct  an  impression  I  had  with  re- 
gard to  his  dress,  you  remember.  I  quite  mistook, 
that  is,  I  got  a  little  mixed  up.  I  called  Birch, 
Beech.  I  forgot,  Mr.  Beech  wears  a  brown  coat  in 
the  autumn,  and  keeps  it  on  all  winter,  or  rather  he 
turns  it — quite  a  philospher  is  Mr.  Beech.  White 
is  warmer  in  winter  really,  than  brown,  though  it 
does  not  look  so.  Beg  pardon,  Mr.  Beech,  I  did 
not  mean  exactly  to  call  you  a  turn  coat,  but  it  is 
better  to  have  a  turned  coat,  than  none  at  all,  in  the 
cold  winter  ;  now,  don't  you  think  so  ?  Mr.  Beech 
had  cleared  his  throat,  or  gained  confidence  by  this 
time — real  merit  is  always  modest,  I  think — and 
he  proceeded  to  say, 

"  I  think  you  will  all  concur  with  me  in  saying, 
that  the  Beech  family  has  a  higher  claim  upon  the 
sympathies  of  the  public,  than  that  of  the  last 
speaker.  It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  Beech 
nut  is  not  allowed  even  to  be  buried  in  peace.    All 


20  WALKS  AND    TALKS. 

the  squirrel  tribe  is  opposed  to  it,  and  strange  to 
say,  man  has  alHed  himself  with  the  bears  and  the 
squirrels  on  this  platform  ;  and  I  really  fear,  unless 
something  is  done  about  it,  that  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  our  places  will  be  occupied  by  a  less 
stalwart  race.  It  is  true,  our  family  is  not  so  large 
or  distinguished  as  that  of  neighbor  Birch,  but  I 
hope  I  do  not  overestimate  when  I  say  that  we 
never  fail  at  fires." 

Mr.  Beech  sat  down,  and  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  hear  from  the  climbers,  woodbine  and  dog- 
wood, but  it  grew  very  cold  ;  the  leaves  shivered 
and  fell  to  the  earth  ;  the  trees  drew  in  their 
breath,  sent  their  sap  down  into  the  ground  to 
their  roots,  put  on  their  soberest,  grayest  expres- 
sion, and  were  ready  for  winter  snows  ! 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    baker's    dozen    AND    HOW    THEY    WENT. 

They  all  went  in  a  Dilligence.  Tiiirteen  of  them ! 
Thirteen  frolicsome,  frisky,  gay  little  kittens,  ex- 
cept— one  mother  puss — sober  and  gray  enough. 

"  A  baker's  dozen."  I  never  quite  understood 
why  a  baker  should  have  thirteen  in  his  dozen,  unless 
he  thinks  one,  or  all  of  his  cakes,  or  pies,  or  pud- 
dings may  be  dry,  and  he  throws  one  in  to  make  up 
in  quantity,  what  is  lacking  in  quality. 

Let  me  see.  Here  are  Lilie,  Florence,  Helen, 
Laura,  Grace,  Mabel,  Charley,  Harry,  Willie,  John, 
George,  Hiram,  and — myself  throvyn  in — No  ? 
Charley  says,  "  Me,  more  like,"  and  Lilie,  and  Grace, 
and  Florence,  all  clamor,  "  to  be  thrown  in." 

We  will  all  be  thrown  into  this  Dilligence,  if  you 
please. 

Where  should  you  like  to  ride  1  In  the  coup^ 
where  we  can  be  very  private,  and  still  have  a  good 


22  THE  BAKER'S  DOZEN. 

view  of  the  country  ;  or,  shall  we  take  the  interior 
and  hi  more  social  ;  or,  go  farther  back  into  the 
posterior,  and  ride  with  the  poorer  class  of  people  ? 

Often  the  Dilligence  is  filled,  and  one  in  a  hurry 
to  get  on,  is  furnished  with  a  carriage  called  the 
subsidii ;  and  we  can  go  there,  if  we  wish. 

Yes,  yes,  I  see  ;  the  boys  all  want  to  go  on  top, 
and  the  girls  look  to  the  coup^. 

How  much  we  shall  enjoy  the  liberty  of  this  im- 
aginary journey !  We  can  take  coup^,  interior, 
posterior,  or  subsidii,  at  will.  That  Titan  conduc- 
teur,  whos9  head  and  face — except  a  little  patch  of 
ruddy  cheek  and  a  pair  of  round  eyes — is  concealed 
by  cap  and  hair ;  with  his  broad  shoulders  and  im- 
mense chest  covered  by  the  hood  and  cape  of  his 
long  Taberoni,  his  long  limbs  and  large  feet  pro- 
tected by  giant  boots,  with  gaiters  buttoned  over 
the  knee,  and  his  strong  hands  encased  in  green 
woolen  gloves,  will  be  very  agreeable  to  us  if  we 
give  him  a  little  of  what  the  Arabs  call  "  buck- 
seesh."  We  shall  journey  without  any  of  the  usual 
troubles.  No  trunks,  no  satchels,  no  umbrellas,  no 
lunch  baskets,  no  discomforts.     We  will  ride  in  the 


THE  BAKER'S  DOZEN.  23 

coup(i  with  Prince  Doria,  Prof.  Emerson,  and 
Madam  Torani  (Torane),  and  they  shall  not  even 
frown  at  our  presence.  The  Baron  shall  have  room 
for  his  gouty  toe,  the  Professor  for  his  specimens, 
and  the  chicken  and  goodies  in  Madam's  basket  be 
quite  safe  from  our  fingers. 

They  will  not  mind  us  in  the  interior.  The 
monks  may  tell  their  beads  and  their  stories,  just 
as  well,  for  the  extra  dozen  ;  the  banker  can  count 
his  gains  and  calculate  for  future  riches,  and  not  be 
disturbed  by  our  merry  faces,  and  careless  hearts  ; 
we  will  not  awaken  that  little  cherub,  that  lies  so 
quietly  in  its  mother's  lap  ;  or  tell  that  party  of 
Americans,  we  have  seen  them  before  ;  we  will 
even  dare  to  enter  the  subsidii,  seat  ourselves  on 
the  very  knees  of  that  irate  Englishman,  who  is  so 
disconcerted  because  there  was  not  room  for  him  in 
the  coup6,  and  he  will  be  none  the  wiser. 

Nor  will  we  be  so  cowardly  as  to  shun  the  pos- 
terior. The  chimney  sweep  will  lose  none  of  his 
soot  or  his  rags  ;  poor  Marie  need  not  fear  for  her 
basket  of  eggs  they  shall  not  be  broken  ;  and  if 
we  have  any  influence,  we  will  help  all  the  inmates 


24  THE  BAKER'S  DOZEN. 

to  carry  their  load  of  poverty  and  wretchedness,  by 
whispering  words  of  encouragement. 

We  will  make  little  excursions  off  the  highways , 
visit  the  people  in  their  hom^s  ;  spend  a  night  with 
one,  dine  with  another  ;  learn  how  they  eat,  and 
sleep,  and  live  generally ;  will  walk  in  the  woods, 
and  see  how  nature  grows  wild,  in  the  fields,  and 
observe  how  cultivated  is  art.  We  will  climb  moun- 
tains, wander  through  valleys,  explore  caves,  exam- 
ine bridges,  ford  streams,  attend  fairs,  without  a 
disadventure,  and  back  to  the  Dilligence  before  that 
Roman  coachman,  with  his  high  Tyrolean  hat,  and 
his  six  frisky  little  horses,  is  ready  to  crack  his 
whip  and  give  that  strange  b-r-r-r-r,  preparatory  to 
the  grand  sweep  into  town  ! 

"  Thirteen  !  Who  of  us  may  die  before  the  year 
is  out,"  says  thoughtful  Mabel.  "  Don't  you  know, 
dear  teacher,  that  thirteen  is  a  fatal  number .-'  That 
people  try  not  to  seat  thirteen  at  a  dinner  party, 
because  of  the  superstition  that  one  may  soon  die.^" 

Oh,  child,  that  is  an  old  woman's  whim.  Thir- 
teen have  dined  together  many  a  time,  and  the  next 
year  found  them  all  alive,  and  ready  to  do  their 


THE  BAKER'S  DOZEN:  25 

part  toward  making  way  with  another  turkey.  I 
said,  an  old  woman's  whim, — I  had  better  say  a 
young  woman's, — and  if  the  young  woman  has  any 
such  fears,  we  will  throw  her  out ;  then,  we  shall 
have  just  a  dozen,  and  nobody  will  fear  such  a  sad 
termination  to  our  journey 

"Oh!  but  I  don't  want  to  be  thrown  out,"  she 
says. 

Well,  then,  /  will  stay  behind,  and  take  the  part 
of  train  dispatcher,  while  you  make  the  journey. 

"  Don't  let  the  trains  run  into  each  other,  or  off 
the  track,"  says  Lilie,  "because  our  imaginary 
heads  may  be  knocked  off," 

"  Or  the  Baker's  Dozen  be  tumbled  into  some 
river,  and  no  coroner  be  found  wise  enough  to  hold 
an  inquest,"  suggested  Charley. 

"  Nor  robins  to  cover  us  with  leaves,"  said 
George. 

"  Well,"  says  John,  "  I  do  not  propose  to  go  frisk- 
ing round  the  world  in  any  such  style,  so  you  may 
just  put  me  out,  and  teacher  and  Mabel  may  go 
along.  I  should  just  as  soon  think  of  riding  through 
the  air  on  a  broom-stick.  I've  altogether  too  much 
3 


26  THE  BAKER'S  DOZEN. 

business  to  attend  to,  to  spend  my  time  in  that 
way.  Besides,  /  never  travel  without  an  overcoat 
and  umbrella." 

Helen  calls  after  him  to  know  "  If  he  would  not 
like  her  parasol  and  fan  ; "  Florence  thinks  "  Her 
shawl  won't  be  in  his  way  ; "  Grace  wants  him  to 
take  her  satchel ;  the  others  add  their  waterproofs, 
and,  to  crown  the  whole,  Mabel  begs  him  "  To  take 
her  kitten  and  dolly,  and  to  be  sure  and  not  lose 
dolly's  hat,  that  is  not  more  than  half  on  ;  and  tell 
her  mother  to  have  a  whole  box  full  of  cookies  made 
ready  for  her  eating,  when  she  gets  back." 

John  walks  off  feeling  very  much  like  a  martyr. 

One  more  shout  to  him  from  Harry.  "  Halloo  ! 
old  fellow !  write  us  a  line  from  home  occasionally," 
and  they  are  off — this  Baker's  Dozen — with  one 
killed  off  at  the  start.  However,  we  shall  hear  from 
John  ;  he'll  be  sure  to  write. 


HELVETIA. 


27 


CHAPTER    III 

HELVETIA. 


If  you  look  on  the  map  of  Europe,  you  will  see 
a  very  small  country,  almost  in  its  very  heart, 
somewhat  in  this  shape. 


Along  its  northern  and  part  of  its  eastern  border, 
is  the  famous  Rhine,  separating  it  from  Germany 


28  HELVETIA. 

and  Austria  ;  the  Alps  border  it  on  the  south  ;  its 
western  neighbors,  the  French,  approach  it  only 
over  the  Jura  mountains,  or  at  the  southwest  by 
means  of  Lake  Geneva,  which  smiles  upon  both 
countries  alike,  and  offers  to  both  the  mediation  of 
its  waters,  for  peaceful  or  warlike  purposes. 

"  Switzerland  ? "  Yes  ;  this  little  country,  not 
quite  a  third  as  large  as  your  own  state*,  is  not  to 
be  overlooked  by  any  such  state  as  Rhode  Island, 
being  fourteen  times  larger  than  that.  In  its  earli- 
est days,  it  was  little  known,  except  by  name.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  both  speak  of  it  as  Helvetia  ; 
and,  from  implements  of  industry  and  inscriptions 
found  there  at  the  time  of  its  conquest  by  Julius 
Caesar,  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  founded  by  the 
Greeks. 

Later,  the  three  cantons  of  Schwitz,  Uri,  and 
Underwald,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Lucern, 
united  for  self-defense,  and  ever  since  have  main- 
tained their  independence.  Their  freedom  was 
menaced  in  the  time  of  Albert,  Duke  of  Austria, 
but,  through  the  sagacity  of  three  of  their  citizens, 

♦Illinois, 


HELVETIA.  29 

Walter  Furst,  of  Uri,  Werner  Stauffac,  of  Schwitz, 
and  Arnold  Melctal,  of  Underwald,  the  danger  was 
foreseen  and  averted.  This  Duke,  the  son  of  Ro- 
dolph,  a  German  prince,  who  had  rendered  great 
service  to  the  Helvetians,  instead  of  pursuing  the 
wise  policy  of  his  father,  attempted  to  make  them 
subservient ;  and  appointed  odious  baillies  or  gov- 
ernors over  them  to  oppress  them  in  all  sorts  of 
ways. 

These  baillies,  residing  in  the  neighborhood, 
protected  themselves  by  armed  men  in  fortresses, 
and  committed  a  great  many  acts  of  violence  upon 
the  people  and  their  property.  Mothers  and  sisters 
were  enticed,  or  carried  to  these  fortresses,  and 
concealed  from  husbands  and  fathers.  The  cattle, 
which  was  a  great  source  of  prosperity  to  them, 
were  taken  from  the  plow  or  the  stall,  and  the  men 
bidden  to  take  their  places,  as  fit  only  for  beasts  of 
burden.  Old  men  were  insulted,  and  their  homes 
destroyed.  One  old  man,  Henri  Melctal,  respected 
more  for  his  integrity,  than  for  his  age  or  fortune, 
was  laboring  one  day  in  his  field,  when  the  satellites 
of  one  of  the  governors  appeared  to  claim  his  yoke 


30  HELVETIA. 

of  oxen.  As  he  complained  of  this  violence,  the 
varlet  said,  "  The  peasants  can  train  themselves  to 
the  plow,  if  they  wish  to  have  bread."  This  excited 
the  indignation  of  his  son  Arnold,  and  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  satellite  and  injured  him.  Ar- 
nold, then,  mindful  only  of  his  own  fate,  without 
thinking  of  the  danger  to  which  he  exposed  his  fa- 
ther, secreted  himself.  Scarcely  had  he  done  this, 
when  the  guards  presented  themselves  at  the  fa- 
ther's house,  and  demanded  the  son,  whose  retreat 
the  father  did  not  know. 

Without  listening  to  his  reasons,  the  governor 
commanded  his  eyes  to  be  put  out,  and  the  sen- 
tence was  immediately  executed. 

Terror  was  wide  spread,  when  these  three  men 
conferred  as  to  the  steps  necessary  to  secure  their 
freedom,  and  agreed  to  meet  again  on  the  plain  of 
Gruntli,  near  the  limits  of  Underwald. 

The  day  agreed  upon  came,  and  with  it  the  three 
men,  each  accompanied  by  ten  others,  on  whose  de- 
votion they  could  trust.  These  thirty-three  citizens, 
with  hearts  full  of  devotion  to  their  country,  swore 
they  would  defend  the  cause  of  the  people  and  sac- 


HELVETIA.  31 

rifice  every  particular  interest,  to  put  it  in  posses- 
sion of  its  privileges  ;  that  their  first  care  should 
be,  to  avoid  shedding  the  blood  of  the  governors, 
their  families,  and  their  officers  ;  their  only  desire 
being,  to  assure  themselves  of  transmitting  to  their 
posterity,  the  liberty  which  they  had  received  from 
their  fathers.  Among  these  conspirators  was  the 
brave  William  Tell. 

These  three  cantons,  Schwitz,  Uri,  and  Under- 
wald,  after  securing  their  independence  (this  was 
about  the  year  1315),  maintained  it  ever  after,  and 
the  neighboring  districts  being  admitted  to  the 
confederacy,  it  has  increased  in  territory,  until 
Switzerland  now  contains  twenty-two  cantons.  I 
hope  this  little  history,  which  is  mostly  a  transla- 
tion from  the  French,  will  lend  additional  interest 
to  our  journeyings. 

Older  people  have  a  great  many  wise  sayings, 
which  are  called  proverbs.  One  I  remember,  "  The 
child  is  father  to  the  man."  Now,  if  you  were  to 
apply  this  proverb  to  this  little  republic,  what  sort 
of  people  should  you  expect  to  find  in  it  t  Lilie 
says   immediately,   "  Good   people."      Why,   Miss 


32 


HELVETIA. 


Lilie  ?  "  Because  the  three  men  you  told  us  of 
were  so  good."  Yes  ;  but  goodness  alone  would 
not  have  freed  it  from  the  power  of  the  tyrants 
placed  over  it.  And  Charley  says,  "  Brave  people." 
Well,  you  are  both  right.  We  may  look  for  good- 
ness and  courage  too.  We  ^\\2\\find  a  bold,  hardy, 
industrious,  simple  people. 


A  Swiss  kitchen  on  (  nnstnias  c\c'. 


CIMO  AND   CHESTNUTS. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


CIMO    AND    CHESTNUTS. 


In  passing  from  Luino  on  to  Luganno,  we  shall 
not  fail  to  notice,  nestled  amid  a  grove  of  beech 
and  chestnuts,  on  a  slope  of  one  of  the  beautiful 
hills  of  this  bonny  Switzerland,  the  pleasant  little 
village  of  Cimo  (Cheemo).  How  quiet  and  peace- 
ful it  looks,  with  its  white  cottages  glistening  in  the 
sunlight !  We  almost  fancy  it  without  life,  until  a 
passing  cloud  betrays  the  smoke,  lazily  curling  from 
some  chimney-top,  into  the  clear  ether. 

"  Distance  lends  always  enchantment."  Could 
we  stop  at  Cimo,  we  should  find  life  there,  as  else- 
where, one  of  labor.  The  soil  is  rugged,  and  yields 
its  treasures  sparingly  to  the  Swiss  woman  whose 
business  and  pleasure  it  is,  to  till  the  land,  milk  the 
cows,  and  prepare  the  winter's  wood. 

Her  husband  and  brothers  are  away,  earning  the 


34  CIMO  AND   CHESTNUTS. 

means  to  supply  other  wants.  Beyond  the  moun- 
tains, in  Italy,  France,  or  Germany,  their  persever- 
ing industry  finds  ready  reward  ;  so  in  the  spring 
when  the  vine  was  pruned  and  made  ready,  they 
left,  and  will  return  only  with  the  Christmas. 
Nothing  but  sickness,  or  death  will  prevent  them 
from  being  at  their  own  homes  at  that  time.  On 
foot,  over  the  mountains,  amid  storms  of  snow,  on 
the  ice  for  days  and  nights  in  succession,  with  their 
knapsacks  and  their  staves,  they  plod  along  ;  but 
they  will  be  there.  Otherwise,  the  Magi  will  fail  to 
bring  the  promised  treasures  of  this  merry  time. 

With  them  at  home,  what  a  gay  laughing  season 
it  is  !  Into  how  many  out  of  the  way  corners  are 
the  wives  and  children  sent  to  hunt  for  gifts.  "The 
Magi  and  camels  are  tall  and  cannot  stoop,"  say 
they,  "  it  hurts  them  to  kneel ;  you  must  look  high 
children."  And  so,  these  little  folks  reach  into 
the  highest,  darkest,  cobwebbiest  corners,  for  dolls, 
and  ribbons,  tops,  sleds,  guns,  and  bon  bons,  shawls, 
dresses,  etc.,  etc. 

Wo !  to  the  luckless  urchin,  whose  record  has 
not   been   fair   within   the  last  two   weeks !      He 


CIMO  AND  CHESTNUTS.  35 

will  look  in  vain  for  any  favors.  The  Magi  are 
displeased,  andJihe  camels  have  nothing  in  their 
loads  of  treasures,  for  him.  He  must  wait  until 
twelfth  night,  when  the  kings  come  again.  If  he 
lias  improved,  he  will  be  remembered  then  ;  but 
the  gift  has  few  attractions,  that  is  not  forthcoming 
at  Christmas. 

The  forests  of  this  village  furnish  its  inhabitants 
with  a  large  part  of  their  food.  The  chestnut  in 
Switzerland  is  not  the  dwarfish,  dull  colored  nut, 
seen  in  America,  but  large  enough  to  fill  the  most 
capacious  mouth  of  you  all,  and  a  clearer  brown, 
than  your  brownest  eyes  or  sunniest  curls.  The  nut 
gathering  season  is  one  full  of  interest.  It  is  a 
later  harvest,  and  young  and  old  set  out  with  their 
sacks  and  baskets,  for  days  of  entertainment  in  the 
"  Merrie  greenwood."  Families  lay  in,  at  this  time, 
for  the  winter's  eating,  from  twenty  to  fifty  bushels. 

After  the  gathering  comes  the  drying.  This  is 
carried  on  in  houses  built  especially  for  the  purpose, 
and  occupies  a  period  of  from  four  to  six  weeks. 
The  nuts  are  spread  out  on  shelves  and  dried  by 


36  CI  MO  AND   CHESTNUTS. 

smoke,  admitted  through  holes  in  the  floor.  The 
smoke  does  not,  as  one  would  suppose,  flavor  them 
at  all,  but  only  dries  them,  dries  them  until  they 
rattle  like  bones  in  their  shells,  from  which  they 
are  afterwards  separated  by  pounding.  When 
needed  for  the  table,  they  are  boiled  three  or  four 
hours,  and  are  to  be  eaten  with  cream,  or  made  into 
a  kind  of  pudding.  They  are  also  used  as  a  stuf- 
fing for  fowls. 

A  Swiss  kitciien,  of  a  winter's  evening,  is  a  mer- 
ry place,  particularly  at  Christmas  time.  Come 
into  one  with  me.  I  will  promise  you  a  hearty  wel- 
come from  Nonno  (Grandpapa)  Bianchi  (Smith), 
reclining  upon  his  long  bench  in  the  chimney  cor- 
ner. Since  the  unsocial  black  stove  has  thrust 
itself  into  favor,  and  rendered  drafts  a  necessity, 
this  old-fashioned  settle  has  passed  into  disuse 
among  us,  and  if  you  would  see  one,  you  must 
search  the  garret  of  some  old,  old  farm-house  in 
the  country. 

For  the  sake  of  the  curious,  who  may  search  gar- 
rets unsuccessfully,  we  will  describe  it  as  a  long 
bench,  with  a  very  high  straight  back,  made  of 


CIMO  AND   CHESTNUTS.  37 

some  common  wood  and  painted  red.  The  fire- 
place is  very  much  Hke  that  of  New  England  fifty 
years  ago,  except,  that  the  hearth  is  hollowed  and 
raised  about  a  foot  from  the  floor. 

The  kitchen,  decorated  with  laurel,  black  as  it  is 
with  the  soot  of  so  many  years,  is  still  bright  with 
the  ruddy  blaze  of  the  fire,  reflected  by  the  sundry 
polished  cooking  utensils  on  the  wall,  and  the  hap- 
py faces  of  the  children  and  friends  that  have  come 
in  to  greet  the  Padr^,  after  his  long  absence. 

Yes  ;  Nonno  will  welcome  you  and  give  you 
some  chestnuts,  too,  that  he  is  roasting  in  that  dark 
pan  you  see  suspended  from  one  of  the  three  chains 
over  the  fire.  The  pitcher  contains  wine  from  his 
own  vineyard.  But  the  nuts  and  the  wine  must 
not  make  us  forget  Nonna  (Grandma)  in  the  other 
corner,  nor  Madr(i  sjnnning  with  her  distaff",  nor 
Padrd  and  his  friends,  discussing  the  affairs  of  the 
nation. 

Come  in,  come  in,  children,  the  kitchen  is  large 
and  will  accommodate  you  all,  though  Carletto,  and 
Napoleone,  and  Cesare  (Chaysary),  and  Guillaume 
(Gui-yo-me),  and  Augusto  (Augoosto),  and  Marie 


38 


CUfO  AND   CHESTNUTS. 


(Maree),  and  Margarita  (Margareeta),  who  usually 
go  with  the  chickens  to  bed,  are  all  allowed  to  stay 
a  little  while  to-night ;  because,  Padr^  has  come 
home,  and  Nonna  has  promised  Carletto  one  of  her 
nice  fairy  stories,  and  you  shall  listen,  too. 


.11.   of  the  bov  flvinff  awav  in  the  moDiilight. 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  39 


CHAPTER  V. 
nonna's  fairy  story. 

A  LONG,  long  time  ago,  there  lived  in  this  coun-- 
try,  two  orphans,  boys,  Walter  and  Leopold,  who 
were  left  while  very  young  in  charge  of  their  rela- 
tives, until  they  could  earn  their  own  living. 

The  world,  as  they  viewed  it  from  this  little 
window  of  Cimo,  overlooking  the  lovely  valley, 
that  like  a  thread  of  silver  wound  its  way  through 
rich  meadows,  by  fields  of  mulberry  and  vineyards, 
olive  groves,  farm-yards,  and  pleasant  villas,  los- 
ing itself  at  last  in  the  lake  beyond,  seemed 
very  enchanting. 

Before  them,  rose  the  lofty  San  Salvatore,  with 
its  little  chapel,  its  gay  processions  and  clambering 
goats  ;  and  away  on,  stretched  the  highway,  over 
which  they  were  soon  to  pass  ;  to  seek  their  for- 
tunes, in  new  places,  and  among  strange  people. 


40  NONA^A'S  EAIRY  STORY. 

'Twas  one  morning  in  midsummer,  that  they  set 
out  on  their  journey,  with  bright  faces,  cheery 
hearts,  strong  Hmbs  and  homespun  suits,  their  only 
fortunes. 

No  kind  mother  warned  them  of  the  dangers  and 
deceits  of  the  world  ;  no  father  encouraged  and 
bade  them,  "  God  speed  ; "  yet,  they  started  out, 
these  sturdy  woodcutters,  without  any  fears  for  the 
future,  or  regrets  for  the  past. 

Far  behind,  they  would  leave  the  lonely  wood 
whose  wilds  had  so  often  resounded  with  the  sound 
of  their  axes.  The  new,  fresh  morning  sparkled 
everywhere.  The  birds  sang  their  liveliest  songs, 
the  flowers  shed  their  sweetest  odors.  The  feelings 
of  the  boys  sprang  up  in  unison  with  the  time,  and 
they  chatted  merrily  with  each  other  of  what  they 
should  do,  in  the  busy  world  they  were  about  to 
enter. 

Thus  the  morning  and  the  noon  passed.  As 
evening  drew  near,  their  hearts  grew  more  sober 
and  their  talk  more  serious,  Walter  said,  "  Let 
what  would  happen,  they  could  safely  trust  to  this 
maxim,  '  Do  good  even  to  your  enemies.'  "     Leo- 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  41 

pold  said,  "  That  it  was  better  to,  and  he  should 
take  care  of  himself ;  if  any  one  treated  him  badly, 
he  should  retaliate,  and  he  meant  to  be  a  rich  man  ; 
he  would  own  houses  and  lands,  wear  rich  clothinj^^, 
and  have  servants  to  wait  upon  him." 

Walter  tried  to  reason  with  his  friend,  and  show 
him  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  ;  how  fires  and 
floods  might  waste  and  destroy  his  houses  and 
lands  ;  servants  and  friends  become  faithless  and 
ungrateful ;  how  the  true  riches  of  the  heart,  love 
to  God,  and  good  will  to  men,  were  the  everlasting, 
and  the  only,  never-failing  sources  of  enjoyment ; 
but  Leopold  was  not  convinced,  and  he  still  con- 
tended loudly  for  his  opinions.  Indeed,  he  was  so 
excited,  that  he  was  ready  to  enforce  his  arguments 
by  blows. 

Walter  saw  the  danger  of  contending  longer,  and 
having  very  little  knowledge  of  human  nature,  he 
proposed  to  leave  the  matter  to  be  decided  by  the 
first  three  travelers  whom  they  should  meet  on  the 
highway. 

Soon  in  the  dim  twilight  they  saw  approaching 
them  a  brave  cavalier,  mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  gay 
4 


42  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 

with  bright  trappings,  and  the  boys  both  ran  to 
meet  him,  each  sure  that  he  would  decide  in  his 
own  favor.  Alas  !  for  poor  human  nature  !  The 
traveler  took  the  wrong  side,  and  Walter  was  dis- 
couraged enough!  However,  there  were  two  others 
to  give  their  opinion,  he  might  yet  be  the  winner, 
"  for  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  says  Nonna,  "  that  the 
boys  had  suffered  themselves  to  bet,  and  the  los- 
ing party  was  to  give  his  clothes  to  the  other." 
The  next  one  that  came  was  a  peasant  from  the 
next  village.  He  also  decided  in  favor  of  Leopold, 
and,  now,  nothing  was  left  for  poor  Walter  to  do 
but  to  redeem  his  pledge. 

Oh !  dear !  how  much  trouble  had  come  upon 
him  in  this  short  time !  He  had  not  only  lost  his 
clothes,  but  his  friend  had  deserted  him.  Leopold, 
attracted  by  the  apparent  prosperity  of  the  gay 
horseman,  thought  to  enter  his  service,  and  turned 
to  follow  him.  Poor  Walter  was  in  a  sorry,  plight, 
and  he  knew  not  what  to  do. 

The  children  all  laugh,  as  the  good  Nonna  de- 
scribes Jiim,  "  flying  rather  than  walking,  praying 
for  the  darkness  to  cover  him  and  conceal  the  pov- 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  43 

erty  of  his  dress  ; "  but  the  rising  moon  answered 
his  prayer  by  shining  with  still  clearer  rays  of  light 
which  revealed  a  little  colony  of  ants,  struggling  to 
reach  a  bank,  from  which  they  had  fallen  into  the 
water. 

Forgetful  of  self,  he  stopped  to  rescue  them,  and 
fled  on.  The  king  of  the  ants  called  out  to  him, 
"  You  have  done  us  a  favor,  we  will  not  forget  it." 
On,  on  he  went,  and  at  last,  breathless,  and  ready 
to  faint,  he  arrived  at  the  house  of  a  miller,  who 
saw  his  necessities,  and  su[)plied  them  immediately. 

Sooner  than  he  knew,  almost,  he  surveyed  him- 
self, a  dusty  miller.  He  had  put  on  a  pair  of  very 
coarse  shoes,  long  blue  stockings,  a  very  long 
waistcoat  and  a  swallow-tailed  coat. 

The  miller  could  not  keep  him  all  night,  so  he 
went  out  to  make  a  bed  in  the  wood  near  by,  as 
confident  as  ever,  of  the  truth  of  his  maxim,  and 
quite  as  ready  to  defend  it. 

Just  then  the  frantic  squealing  of  a  rat,  that  the 
miller's  trap  had  made  prisoner,  attracted  his  atten- 
tion. He  liberated  it,  and  walked  on.  The  rat 
called  after  him,  "  You  have  done  me  a  favor,  I  will 
not  forget  it." 


44  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 

Next  he  released  a  bee  that  had  become  entan- 
gled in  the  web  of  a  spider.  The  bee  said,  '*  You 
have  done  me  a  favor,  I  shall  not  forget  it." 

Near  by  the  wood,  where  he  proposed  to  spend 
the  night,  was  an  open  field,  long  known  as  fairy 
land.  He  passed  over  this  and  entered  the  forest, 
where  he  made  his  bed,  concealing  himself  among 
the  leaves.  By  and  by,  the  fairies  came  out  for 
their  midnight  revels,  all  unconscious  that,  "  mortal 
eyes  and  ears,"  were  witness  to  their  sports  and 
conversations. 

After  dancing  for  a  while,  they  separated  into 
groups  for  conversation.  They  told  each  other 
where  they  had  been,  whom  they  had  seen,  and 
what  they  had  done. 

One  set  approached  so  near  the  place  where 
Walter  lay  hidden  that  he  could  not  help  hearing 
their  conversation,  from  which  he  learned  that  he 
was  not  far  from  the  palace  of  the  king,  and  that 
the  princess  was  very  ill,  indeed  ;  that  the  court 
physicians  did  not  know  what  ailed  her,  and  had 
said  that  they  could  not  cure  her.  Hardly  had  one 
related  this,  when  another  confessed  to  having 
sucked  her  blood,  declaring  that  she  had  concealed 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  45 

it  beneath  the  chimney  in  lier  room.  She  said  too, 
unless  it  could  be  restored  to  her  she  would  cer- 
tainly die. 

Soon,  they  all  went  away,  and  Walter  fell  asleep. 
In  the  morning,  he  remembered  what  the  fairies 
had  said,  and  started  to  seek  the  palace,  which  he 
readily  found. 

The  fairies  had  told  the  truth,  for  everybody  about 
the  palace  was  talking  about  it.  Walter  never 
thought  he  should  have  any  difficulty  in  gaining 
admittance  to  the  palace. 

Little  knowledge  had  he  of  the  customs  of  courts. 
As  soon  as  the  guards  saw  him,  they  jeered  him 
about  his  uniform,  and  called  him  a  country  boor. 
His  very  ignorance  served  him  better  than  cunning, 
for  he  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  his  tormentors  that 
he  was  possessed  of  knowledge  by  which  he  could 
cure  the  princess.  "  You  must  carry  it  in  your  hat 
then,"  said  one,  "  your  brain  would  never  hold  it," 
and  with  a  rude  blow  he  knocked  it  off.  Another 
made  a  jest  about  his  coat,  which  excited  the  mirth 
of  all  about,  notwithstanding  the  condition  of  the 
princess. 


46  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 

The  noise  came  at  last  to  the  ears  of  the  king, 
who,  on  being  told  its  cause,  said,  "  Let  the  man 
come  in." 

To  make  sure  that  the  story  he  had  heard  from 
the  fairies  was  true,  he  asked  him  to  be  allowed  to 
visit  his  daughter  alone.  To  this,  the  king  consent- 
ed, as  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  hope  of  saving 
her  life.  Everything  was  as  the  fairy  had  said,  and 
in  a  few  days  after  the  medicine  was  administered, 
Walter  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  princess 
entirely  conscious.  Leaving  her  to  the  care  of  her 
servants,  he  sought  the  presence  of  the  king  to  an 
nounce  her  recovery,  and  claim  his  reward ;  for  she 
had  been  promised  as  a  bride  to  whomever  should 
cure  her. 

You  will  be  sorry  to  know  that  the  king,  like 
many  other  people  in  high  stations,  was  not  ready 
to  keep  his  word ;  but  tried,  by  imposing  impossi- 
ble tasks  upon  Walter,  to  find  an  excuse  for  break- 
ing it.  So  he  put  him  off  till  the  next  day,  and  told 
him  to  follow  a  servant  to  the  room  made  ready  for 
him  to  sleep  in,  a  most  miserable  place,  fit  only  for 
the  rats  that  infested  it.     There  lay  upon  its  floor 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  47 

a  large  heap  of  very  small  seeds  all  mixed  together ; 
hemp,  canary,  and  mustard  ;  and  near  by,  were 
three  empty  sacks.  The  servant  presented  a  paper 
to  him  on  which  was  written,  "  Separate  the  seeds 
one  from  the  other,  and  place  each  in  its  own  sack, 
or  leave  the  palace  in  the  morning."  The  task  was 
indeed  a  hopeless  one,  but  the  reward  was  great. 
He  already  loved  the  princess,  so  he  worked  stead- 
ily on  until,  overcome  by  the  great  labors  and  the 
excitements  of  the  past  few  days,  he  fell  asleep. 

Oh !  that  faithful  moon,  that  shone  on,  even  when 
he  begged  for  darkness !  whose  bright  rays  revealed 
that  little  struggling  colony  of  ants  ! 

"  Let  him  sleep  on,"  says  one,  their  king,  who,  in 
one  corner,  had  been  watching.  "  Quick  !  call  all 
the  workmen,  we  must  finish  his  work."  Silently 
they  came,  and  unceasingly  they  labored,  until  the 
last  seed  was  put  in  its  own  place.  Then  every 
one  went  to  his  home  in  the  great  ant-hill  near  by, 
except  the  king,  who  said,  "  Now,  I  must  wake  the 
sleeper,  for  the  morn  approaches."  So  he  crawled 
up  onto  his  clumsy  shoes,  over  his  long  stockings 
and  dusty  waistcoat,  and  ragged  handkerchief,  over 


48 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 


his  mouth  and  nose,  and  onto  his  eyelids.  Here 
he  ran  to  and  fro,  avoiding,  by  skillful  turns,  the 
blows  from  the  hand  of  the  wearied  sleeper.  Once, 
Walter  turned  over  and  came  near  killing  his  faith- 
ful friend.  He  escaped,  however,  and  ran  round  to 
make  an  attack  in  the  rear,  where  he  was  more 
successful ;  for,  just  as  the  sun  rose,  Walter  threw 
himself  back,  again  endangering  the  life  of  the  ant, 
opened  his  eyes,  and  saw  to  his  surprise  his  work 
all  finished  !  The  ant  scrabbled  down  to  the  floor, 
and  going  round  before  him,  said,  "  You  did  us  a 
favor,  we  have  not  forgotten  it,"  and  disappeared. 


You  did  mc  a  tavor,  I  have  nut  lorguiien  it.' 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  49 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FAIRY   STORY — CONTINUED. 

The  prince,  when  he  saw  the  work  accomplished 
that  he  thought  impossible,  was  more  surprised 
than  Walter,  and  began  to  consider  another  task, 
for  he  was  not  yet  willing  to  give  to  his  daughter 
such  an  uncourtly  husband. 

The  king  was  not  yet  willing  to  give  up  his 
daughter,  so  he  called  Walter  and  told  him  that  he 
should,  the  next  morning,  bring  him  a  nuptial  ring 
that  lay  upon  the  table  near  his  daughter's  bed, 
without  unlocking  any  of  the  doors  leading  to  the 
room,  or  forfeit  all  claim  to  her  hand. 

I  cannot  picture  to  you  the  sorrow  that  he  felt  at 
this  most  cruel  trial.  How  could  he  succeed  }  Her 
room,  situated  in  the  most  remote  corner  of  the 
palace,  was  reached  only  by  passing  through  every 


50  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 

Other  apartment,  which  were  locked,  and  the  king, 
himself,  in  possession  of  the  keys  ! 

The  windows  in  it  were  so  small  as  to  render  it 
impossible  for  one  like  him  to  pass  through,  even 
if  he  could  have  scaled  the  walls,  which  were  high, 
and  as  smooth  as  glass. 

What  should  he  do  ? 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  do  a  slight  favor  to  the 
most  insignificant  person  or  thing,  without  feeling 
in  our  hearts  such  a  beautiful  love  as  more  than 
doubly  rewards  us  ;  and  had  not  he  watched  over 
her  life  for  two  or  three  days  and  nights  ?  What 
should  he  do  !     What  should  he  do  ! 

His  piteous  cries  caused  even  the  rats  in  his  mis- 
erable room  to  cease  their  depredations.  At  last, 
one  came  out  of  his  hole  and  begged  him  to  go  to 
sleep.  His  despair,  however,  would  not  allow  him 
to  sleep  soundly.  In  liis  dreams,  he  thought  his 
friend  Leopold,  had  come  to  the  palace,  and  the 
king,  delighting  more  in  fine  clothes  than  a  true 
heart,  had  given  the  beautiful  princess  to  him. 

Meanwhile,  the  rat,  our  hero  of  the  trap,  was  not 
idle.     He  called  together  his  friends,  told  them  how 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  51 

Walter  had  served  him  in  his  time  of  need,  and 
begged  them  as  they  vaUied  the  future  comfort  of 
all  classes  of  animals,  to  assist  him  in  procuring  the 
ring.  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  inmates  of  the 
palace  were  now  fast  asleep. 

After  due  deliberation,  they  hit  upon  the  plan  of 
forming  a  pyramid  or  rather  a  half  pyramid  of  rats, 
high  enough  to  reach  the  windows  of  the  chamber. 
If  it  should  chance  to  be  open,  it  would  be  very 
easy  to  reach  the  table  by  means  of  the  drapery, 
which  covered  the  walls  ;  otherwise,  the  topmost 
rat  should  gnaw  through  the  casing. 

The  topmost  rat  acquitted  himself  admirably. 
Without  causing  even  a  breath  to  disturb  the  sleep- 
ing princess,  he  removed  the  ring  from  the  table, 
and  conveyed  it  down  the  living  pyramid  to  Walter, 
who  had  started  up  out  of  his  dream  and  rushed 
out  into  the  air,  saying,  as  he  presented  it,  "  You 
did  me  a  favor,  I  have  not  forgotten  it." 


52  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

FAIRY    STORY CONCLUDED. 

In  the  morning,  Walter  presented  himself  again 
to  the  king,  who  refused  even  to  talk  with  him,  or- 
dering him  to  prison  as  a  wizard  ;  but,  suddenly 
seeming  to  remember  that  he  owed  the  life  of  his 
daughter  to  his  skill,  he  decided  to  give  him  one 
more  trial. 

Now,  there  were  in  the  palace,  as  the  chosen 
companions  to  the  princess,  twelve  young  girls,  re- 
sembling her  so  nearly  as  to  deceive  the  king  him- 
self, who  ordered  that  on  the  following  evening, 
preparations  should  be  made  for  a  fSte  in  the  gar- 
den adjoining  the  palace. 

For  this,  these  thirteen  beautiful  girls,  were  to 
be  dressed  exactly  alike,  and  Walter  was  to  select 
the  princess  from  among  her  friends,  and  dance 
with  her  a  minuet,  that  was  to  be  composed  ex- 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  53 

pressly  for  the  occasion  ;  and,  that  he  should  receive 
no  help  from  any  quarter,  he  was  detained  in  the 
apartments  of  the  king,  who  had  told  his  servants 
to  provide  him  with  suitable  apparel. 

This  time,  he  did  lose  his  courage.  He  had  been 
carried  bravely  through  two  trials,  and  he  hoped 
not  to  be  deserted  in  the  third.  The  king  seemed 
to  look  upon  him  with  more  favor,  after  he  was 
more  suitably  clad. 

Evening  came,  and  the  number  and  brilliancy  of 
the  lights  in  that  glittering  palace,  the  rockets  and 
wheels,  and  candles  sent  up  from  garden  and  coun- 
try around,  made  him  feel  as  though  he  was  on  en- 
chanted ground. 

Shine  on  silver  moon !  Add  to  this  thy  own 
beautiful  soft  light,  and  witness  the  triumph  of  this 
undaunted  friend  of  good  and  true  principles. 

As  the  time  drew  nearer  he  grew  a  little  anxious 
and  fearful.  The  princess  he  had  only  seen  in  a 
darkened  room.  How  could  he  hope  to  select  her 
from  others  so  much  like  her  as  to  deceive  her  own 
father } 

The  day  had  passed  and  there  was  no  intimation 


54  NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 

of  any  help.  Now  the  most  enrapturing  music, 
and  the  sound  of  joyful  voices,  fell  upon  his  ear. 
The  lime  for  dancing  arrived,  and  Walter  was  led 
hopeless  and  despairing  into  the  presence  of  the 
princess  and  her  companions. 

He  had  had  scarcely  time  to  notice  them,  before 
a  swarm  of  bees,  attracted  from  a  neighboring 
thicket  by  their  exceeding  loveliness,  approached 
and  settled  upon  them  like  a  great  cloud. 

Their  rose-colored  dresses,  the  waving  of  their 
feathery  fans,  and  their  graceful  motions,  made 
them  resemble  an  enchanted  group  of  azaleas,  and 
keener  instincts  than  the  bees  might  well  have  been 
mistaken. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  tumult  caused  by  their 
descent,  one  flew  to  Walter  and  whispered,  "  Take 
courage,  the  bees  are  under  my  control,  and  will 
leave  as  suddenly  as  they  came.  I  will  alight  on 
the  nose  of  the  princess  and  return  to  you.  The 
third  time  I  do  this,  she  will  brush  me  away  with 
her  fan.  By  this  you  will  know  her,  lead  her  to 
the  dance  and  I  will  conduct  you  through." 

Walter  followed  the  instructions  of  the  bee,  who 


NONNA'S  FAIRY  STORY.  65 

said  at  the  close,  "  You  did  me  a  favor,  I  have  not 
forgotten  it." 

Prince  and  courtiers,  now  congratulated  him,  and 
were  not  unwilling  to  claim  him  as  a  brave  gentle- 
man, and  true  knight,  and  at  once  proclaimed  him 
as  the  worthy  husband  of  a  most  fortunate  princess. 

"  Lived  in  peace  and  died  in  a  pot  of  grease," 
muttered  Charley,  "  that's  the  way  all  such  stories 
as  that  end." 

Nonna  did  not  hear  him,  and  went  on  to  tell  of 
the  bridal  tour,  how  they  started  off  from  the  pal- 
ace in  an  elegant  chariot,  drawn  by  six  white  horses, 
followed  by  a  large  party  of  lords  and  ladies  on 
horseback,  with  bands  of  music  and  a  great  com- 
pany of  servants  ;  then  she  spoke  very  sorrowfully 
about  Leopold,  who,  she  said,  went  on  bravely 
for  a  little  time  with  his  new  friends,  but  he  was  so 
entirely  wrapped  up  in  himself,  that  nobody  liked 
him  long,  and  he  finally  resorted  to  begging  for  his 
livelihood. 

"  So  it  will  always  be,"  says  Nonna,  "  If  we  re- 
turn good  for  evil  we  shall  be  rewarded."  It  may 
not  be  with  princesses,  or  fine  clothes,  or  palaces, 


56 


A^OALVA'S  FAIRY  STORY. 


or  fine  horses  and  chariots,  but  with  better  things 
than  all  these  our  heavenly  Father  will  reward 
them  who  obey  his  teachings.  The  children  all 
take  a  long  breath,  and  Carletto  says,  "  Tell  it 
again,  dear  Nonna ; "  but,  the  "  Sand-man  "  has 
come,  and  she  thinks  "  it  is  time  all  little  folks  were 
in  bed." 


CHIP.  57 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


CHIP. 


Bless  me !  is  that  Charley  over  there  in  the 
wood  ?  What  has  he  found  }  Squirrels  .-'  "  He 
went  off  before  Nonna  had  quite  finished  her  story," 
said  Grace. 

He  has  caught  one  as  sure  as  I  live  !  A  little 
English  squirrel. 

Poor  thing !  how  frightened  it  is  !  But,  Charley, 
you  must  not  go  off  in  the  woods ;  you  might  be 
snapped  up  by  a  bear  or  wildcat ;  some  lynx  might 
take  you  for  a  rabbit  and  swallow  you  whole. 

Your  ears  } 

Oh !  no ;  they  would  not  trouble  him.  He  could 
swallow  you  without  "  buttoning  them  back  at  all." 
But,  this  little  squirrel,  how  did  you  catch  him  } 

"  Oh !  I  climbed  the  tree,  and  when  he  wasn't 
looking,  whisked  him  right  off  the  limb  by  his  tail," 
5 


58  CHIP. 

said  Charley.  Well,  I  think  the  fairies  must  have 
helped  you,  else  he  is  a  blind  specimen  of  squirani- 
ty,  for  squirrels,  of  all  animals,  are  the  most  difficult 
to  catch.  Their  eyes  are  very  quick,  and  they 
manage  somehow  always  to  keep  the  trunk  of  the 
tree  or  the  limb  between  them  and  any  spectator. 
Then,  they  are  so  nimble  that  they  can  run  to  the 
very  topmost  bough  and  sit  very  securely  upon  a 
twig  that  will  bend  beneath  their  weight,  defying 
any  boy  like  you  to  follow  where  they  lead. 

The  only  way  to  capture  them  is  to  chase  them 
to  some  lone  tree,  follow  as  far  as  you  dare,  then 
shake  the  limb  violently  enough  to  make  them  fall 
to  the  ground,  where,  if  you  have  allies  nimble 
enough  with  their  caps  to  cover  the  poor  little 
frightened  thing,  you  may  secure  him. 

They  are  very  mischievous  animals.  A  friend  of 
mine  had  once  a  hackee,  or  as  boys  called  him,  a 
chipmunk,  in  a  cage.  The  cage  and  everything 
about  it,  was  made  of  wire,  that  he  could  not  well 
gnaw ;  and  as  long  as  he  was  kept  a  close  prisoner, 
he  did  very  well ;  but  his  mistress  pitied  him  so  much, 
that   one   day   she   opened   the  door,  and  allowed 


CHIP.  59 

him  the  liberty  of  the  room  for  an  hour  or  so.  At 
the  end  of  this  time,  she  enticed  him  into  the  cage 
with  a  bit  of  apple,  or  something,  and  shut  him  in. 
She  let  him  out  the  next  day  and  was  again  suc- 
cessful in  making  him  a  prisoner  ;  but  the  third 
time.  Chip  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  not  be 
shut  up  any  more,  nor  would  he  lose  his  treat  either ; 
so,  he  whisked  into  the  cage,  snatched  the  apple, 
and  was  out  again  before  they  could  wink,  hardly. 

Ever  after,  he  was  master  in  the  house,  having 
complete  possession  of  himself,  and  everything  he 
wanted  to  make  himself  happy.  He  built  his  nest 
on  the  top  of  the  book-case  out  of  hair  he  filched 
from  the  sofa ;  gnawed  holes  wherever  he  wanted 
to  make  an  entrance  or  departure ;  hid  thimbles, 
scissors,  spools  of  silk,  in  short,  there  was  no  end 
to  his  mischief,  and  he  would  not  be  caught. 

Finally,  my  friend  said  she  could  not  stand  it  any 
longer.  She  was  going  into  the  country  and  Chip 
should  go  too  ;  so  she  commenced  upon  him  a  reg- 
ular system  of  starvation.  Everything  eatable  was 
put  out  of  his  reach,  and  when  he  was  well  starved, 
he  resigned  himself  to  the  situation  and  capitulated. 


60  CHIP. 

Poor  Chip !  He  was  not  treated  very  badly.  As 
soon  as  he  reached  the  country  he  was  set  at  liber- 
ty, but  Mrs.  C was  no  better  off.     He  chose 

a  tree  near  the  house  in  which  to  build  his  nest, 
and  gave  up  none  of  his  bad  habits.  He  foraged 
on  his  mistress'  pantry  by  day,  and  at  night  he 
would  steal  into  an  open  window  and  make  off  with 
a  candle.  If  he  could  not  get  a  whole  one,  he  could 
put  up  with  a  piece. 

By  and  by,  his  friends  advised  him  that  as  the 
cold  winter  was  coming  on,  he  had  better  make  the 
acquaintance  of  some  of  his  fellow  squirrels,  and 
learn  how  to  gather  nuts  and  store  them. 

Chip  thought  it  was  altogether  best  to  exercise  a 
little  forethought  with  regard  to  his  future,  now 
that  he  was  free  to  act  for  hfmself,  so  he  set  off  for 
the  wood,  and  the  last  time  my  friend  saw  him,  he 
was  dipping  his  paws  in  a  brook,  ready  to  wash  his 
face.  She  heard  that  he  made  himself  a  nest,  three 
feet  under  ground ;  that  it  had  two  entrances  eight 
feet  long,  and  contained  a  quart  of  hazel  nuts,  a 
peck  of  acorns,  two  quarts  of  buckwheat,  and  some 
grass  seed;  that  it  was  made  of  oak  leaves  and 


CHIP.  61 

grass,  and  furthermore,  that  he  conveyed  all  these 
nuts  to  his  nest  by  means  of  his  mouth,  four  at  a 
time  ! 

Only  think  of  his  industry!  How  many  journeys 
he  had  to  make  over  this  long  road ;  but  then  I 
suppose  he  had  some  help  ;  for  I  am  told  that  two 
usually  occupy  one  nest,  remaining  in  it  year  after 
year. 

Squirrels  subsist  mostly  on  vegetable  food.  They 
do  not  lap  their  drink  as  cats  and  dogs  do,  but  put 
their  noses  into  it  and  drink  "just  like  folks,"  then 
sit  back  on  their  hind  legs  and  wash  their  faces 
with  their  fore  feet,  occasionally  dipping  their  paws 
into  the  water. 

Mabel  wants  to  know  how  I  can  tell  that  this 
squirrel  that  Charley  has  caught  so  mysteriously  is 
an  English  squirrel. 

Well,  Mabel,  I  am  indebted  to  an  Illustrated 
Natural  History,  by  the  Rev.  J.  G,  Wood,  for  my 
knowledge  of  this  little  fellow.  This  is  what  it 
says : — "  Its  color  is  a  ruddy  brown  on  the  back,  and 
greyish  white  on  the  under  portions  of  the  body  ; 
that  he  has  also  a  very  bushy  tail."  This  corre- 
sponds very  nicely  with  the  facts  in  this  case. 


62  CHIP. 

Now,  Charley,  we  are  coming  near  a  large  tree, 
give  Bunny  a  chance  to  prove  his  claim  to  his  title. 
Hold  him  very  gently,  so.     There  he  goes ! 

"  You  did  not  think  he  could  jump  so  far." 

Yes;  "he  will  fling  himself  to  a  great  distance, 
and  if  he  should  make  a  misstep,  which  he  seldom 
does,  he  will  spread  out  his  tail  and  feet,  presenting 
as  large  a  surface  to  the  air  as  possible,  and  alight 
without  much  of  a  jar  to  his  feelings," 

The  color  of  the  squirrel  varies  with  the  country 
it  inhabits.  Even  in  England,  in  cold  winters,  it 
sometimes  changes  to  grey.  Mabel  is  not  satisfied 
yet,  I  see.     Well,  Mabel,  what  is  it.' 

"  I  wanted  to  know  if  there  were  no  other  kinds 
but  the  chipmunks  and  the  English  ? " 

Yes ;  there  are  several  other  varieties,  differing 
in  form,  color,  and  habits.  There  are  flying  squir- 
rels, black  squirrels,  Java  squirrels,  and  the  Sibe- 
rian squirrel,  that  is  hunted  so  much  to  make  caps 
and  capes  and  cloaks  for  young  misses. 

Now,  Harry  wants  to  know  about  the  lynx  and 
the  viper  and  the  wildcat. 

The  lynx  belongs  to  the  cat  family,  and  is  a  very 
ugly-looking  animal.     I  think  I  should  rather  be 


CHIP.  63 

excused  from  approaching  nearer  to  the  real  animal 
than  his  picture.  "  It  is  of  a  dark  gray  color, 
washed  with  red,  with  dark  patches  down  its  sides, 
and  has  the  peculiar  habit  of  changing  its  fur  with 
the  season."  Its  face  is  disgustingly  large,  with 
immense  bushy  whiskers,  eyes  wide  apart,  ears 
tipped  with  tufted  hair  like  stiff  plumes.  It  has 
very  sharp,  quick  eyes,  so  that  to  be  "  Lynx-eyed  " 
has  passed  into  a  proverb.  Its  tail  is  short,  not 
more  than  six  inches,  and  it  is  a  good  climber. 

Think  of  it.  Master  Charley,  suppose  you  had 
been  gobbled  up  by  such  a  monster  as  that !  Ugh  ! 
it  makes  me  shudder  to  imagine  such  a  thing. 

No,  no,  sir,  we  must  make  friends  with  the 
brownies  that  inhabit  these  woods,  to  bring  us  our 
specimens  of  Natural  History  if  we  would  examine 
any  more. 

"Brownies  couldn't  bring  us  a  bear,  or  a  wildcat," 
said  Charley,  "  Brownies  are  fairy  folks,  and  they 
are  small  you  know." 

Yes,  I  know,  but  couldn't  they  charm  one  for  us 
while  we  examined  it. 

Florence  said,  "she  always  thought  Brownies 
were  very  charming^ 


64  CHIP. 

Charley  took  in  the  joke,  and  looked  at  her  as 
though  he  wanted  to  say  something  very  bright, 
but  he  only  whistled,  and  then  asked,  "  If  wildcats 
were  cats  run  wild  ?  " 

It  is  the  opinion  of  most  naturalists  that  they  are 
quite  different. 

"The  tail  of  the  wildcat  is  rounder  at  the  end, 
and  at  least  two  inches  shorter,  than  the  house-cat ; 
and  it  has  been  observed  that  a  house-cat  run  wild 
for  two  or  three  generations,  did  not  lose  this  dis- 
tinction." There  are  other  differences,  too.  "It 
looks  decidedly  more  like  a  tiger,  is  longer,  has  a 
larger  and  coarser  look  about  the  head,  stands 
higher  on  its  legs,  and  is  more  difficult  to  kill.  It 
has  been  said  that  if  a  house-cat  has  nine  lives,  a 
wildcat  has  twelve." 

It  makes  its  home  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  or  in  the 
hollow  of  some  tree,  sometimes  in  the  nest  of  a 
large  bird,  and  haunts  the  shores  of  lakes  and  riv- 
ers. It  is  easy  after  having  taken  one,  to  ensnare 
another,  because  like  the  fox,  if  the  dead  body  of 
the  one  taken  is  left  behind,  others  of  the  colony 
will  be  sure  to  visit  it  and  fall  themselves  into  the 
snare. 


CHIP.  65 

A  cat  run  wild,  was  killed  very  valiantly  not  long 
ago  in  New  Brunswick,  by  a  little  boy  nine  years 
old,  who,  with  his  two  younger  sisters,  were  left  one 
evening  to  keep  house. 

The  mother  had  not  been  long  away,  when  a 
starved  cat  made  his  entrance  among  them  through 
an  open  door,  and  sprang  at  one  of  the  children. 
Sammy  immediately  seized  a  billet  of  wood,  and 
was  fortunate  enough  to  aim  his  first  blow  so  as  to 
stunn  the  animal. 

The  little  girls  jumped  upon  the  table  and  cheered 
their  brother  in  this  wise,  "Give  it  to  him  Sammy ;" 
and  Sammy  did  give  it  to  him  till  he  was  entirely 
killed,  when  his  courage  forsook  him,  and  he  left 
the  house  to  his  dead  foe  for  the  rest  of  the  evening. 

The  papers  reported  at  the  time,  that  it  was  a 
real  wildcat,  which  was  not  quite  true.  Sammy's 
courage,  however,  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  as  I 
hope  it  always  will  be.  I  trust  this  little  boy  will 
never  be  afraid  to  do  right,  not  even  to  be  called  a 
coward,  which  is  the  greatest  fear  that  can  fall  upon 
a  brave  spirit. 

God  bless  him  !  and  make  him  as  ready  to  defend 


66  CHIP. 

himself  and  sisters  from  every  evil  thought  and  ac- 
tion, as  he  was  to  slay  that  hungry  wild  beast. 

Lilie  has  a  story  to  tell  us  about  a  cat  she  knew 
by  the  name  of  Sambo. 

It's  a  true  story  .-' 

"  Yes,  true,  every  word.  Oh !  Sambo  was  such  a 
handsome  cat ! " 

Well,  had  we  not  better  reserve  your  story  about 
the  cat  for  another  time  .-'  We  are  approaching  a 
place  where  there  seems  to  be  some  excitement. 
We  will  leave  the  Dilligence  now,  riding  so  long  in 
one  position  is  tiresome,  and  walk  round  this  charm- 
ing little  village.  Keep  well  together,  Grace  look 
out  for  Charley.  'Twouldn't  take  much  to  make  a 
gipsey  of  him,  and  I  see  they  have  tents  here. 


AGAO.  67 


CHAPTER    IX. 

AGNO. 

The  eighth  of  March,  Agno  and  roses!  I  re- 
member this  is  gala  day  for  Agno,  the  anniversary 
of  its  patron  saint,  San  Provino. 

Agno  is  a  small  village  in  the  canton  of  Ticino 
(Techeeno).  The  people  here  speak  Italian,  and 
are  for  the  most  part  Catholics. 

The  procession  which  approaches  is  in  honor  of 
an  old  bishop,  who  was  canonized  because  the  fire 
which  consumed  his  church,  failed  to  destroy  his 
wooden  image. 

This  religious  festival  occurs  every  year  at  this 
time,  and  lasts  three  days,  ending  with  a  fair  which 
is  held  out  of  doors,  at  which  time  the  rich  and  the 
poor  mingle  freely,  drinking  with  each  other,  danc- 
ing on  the  green  together,  and  make  themselves 
generally  social. 


68  AG  NO. 

There  is  nothing  in  America  which  corresponds 
to  the  canvetti  of  the  Swiss,  Unhke  the  German 
beer-gardens  they  are  built  partly  underground,  and 
as  you  see,  near  a  wood,  so  that  with  a  trellis  cov- 
ered with  the  vine  at  one  end,  they  are  completely 
sheltered  from  the  sun.    They  are  very  picturesque. 

To-morrow  and  the  following  day,  they  will  en- 
tertain each  other  in  these  canvetti.  The  ladies 
will  don  their  gayest  apparel,  and  the  gentlemen  in 
their  holiday  suits,  with  their  drinking-cups  sus- 
pended from  their  botton-holes,  will  be  very  jolly. 
The  distaff,  on  this  occasion,  decorated  with  flowers 
and  ribbons  and  fringed  silk,  will  be  devoted  to  or- 
nament; and  it  is  borne  very  proudly  by  these 
beaux,  until  they  choose  to  express  their  partiality 
for  some  lady  by  presenting  it  to  her. 

Old  quarrels  are  sometimes  fought  out  at  this 
time,  but  the  Swiss  do  not  often  allow  wine  to  get 
the  better  of  them. 

"  Do  I  think  it  right  to  drink  wine } " 

Certainly  not  for  us,  as  we  have  been  educated  to 
do  without  it.  The  wine  which  the  Swiss  drink 
has  very  little  alcohol  in  it ;  less,  perhaps,  than  has 


AGNO.  69 

our  cider.  Neither  the  Swiss  or  the  German  drink 
much  of  any  strong  wines.  The  beer  that  they  like 
and  such  as  they  drink,  almost  universally,  with 
their  food,  contains  so  little  alcohol  that  great  care 
is  necessary  to  keep  it  from  souring.  Little  of  the 
drunkenness  common  to  whiskey  and  wine  bibbers 
in  this  country  and  England  is  known  to  them. 

The  procession  nears  us  ! 

These  in  their  long  black  cassocks,  with  the 
three-cornered  caps  on  their  heads,  and  their  should- 
ers decorated  with  the  embroidered  and  bejeweled 
stole,  are  the  bishops  and  priests.  The  stole  in  the 
old  Greek  days  was  worn  only  by  virtuous  women, 
and  so  came  to  symbolize  purity. 

Following  them  are  the  acolytes.  They  look 
very  gay  in  their  scarlet  and  white  robes,  swinging 
aloft  their  golden  censers — twenty-four  of  them. 

Here  comes  the  dais,  which  bears  all  that  was 
not  perishable  of  the  poor  wooden  bishop,  crowned 
with  flowers !  I  hope  he  did  as  little  harm  while 
he  lived  in  the  world  as  has  this  wooden  image. 
Ah!  this  is  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  show. 
Two   or   three  hundred  misses  and   children,  all 


70  AG  NO. 

dressed  in  white,  with  their  blue  sashes  in  honor  of 
the  virgin !  bkie  being  supposed  to  be  her  color ! 

It  is  a  happy  song  they  sing  of  which  we  can 
only  understand  the  chorus. 

"  Hail  to  the  San  Provino — Hail  to  thee,  bright 
saint."  In  their  hearts  I  think  the  chorus  runs 
more  like  this :  Hail !  bright  summer !  We  praise 
thee,  oh  God,  for  this  glorious  sun,  these  bright 
flowers,  and  all  these  beautiful  things ! 

They  are  on  their  way  to  the  church  yonder, 
where  mass  is  to  be  celebrated. 

"What  is  mass.?" 

The  word  is  derived  from  the  Latin  missa,  mean- 
ing to  send  away,  or  dismiss,  and  originally  was 
applied  to  the  penitents  and  catechists,  who  were 
only  allowed  to  remain  until  prayers  were  offered, 
being  dismissed  before  communion  service.  Now 
it  has  come  to  mean,  only,  the  Lord's  supper,  and 
when  it  is  celebrated  with  music  it  is  called  high 
mass,  without  music,  low  mass. 

This  day  is  the  festival  of  a  good  many  saints ; 
three  Egyptian  martyrs,  who  lived  in  the  first  half 
century ;  two  Irish,  of  about  the  same  age,  besides, 


AG  NO.  71 

St.  Felix,  St.  Julian,  St.  Rosa,  and  St.  John  of  God, 
the  founder  of  an  order  of  charity,  so  the  prayers 
will  be  many  and  long  and  the  ceremonies  tire- 
some.* At  the  elevation  of  the  host  we  should  all 
be  obliged  to  kneel  or  offend  the  people,  which  we 
would  not  like  to  do,  so  we  will  back  to  the  Dilli- 
gence,  where,  if  Lilie  pleases,  she  can  tell  her  story 
of  Eliza  and  her  cat. 

"  Gipsies  and  fortunes  !  "  Oh  !  no  ;  we  cannot 
trust  them.  I  can  tell  your  fortunes  just  as  well  as 
the  Gipsies. 

"You  tell  fortunes!" 

Yes — and  without  silver,  too — try  me. 

"  Elevation  of  the  host !  "  Grace  wants  to  know 
more  about  that. 

The  host,  dear  Grace,  is  simply  a  wafer  made  of 
flour  and  water,  corresponding  to  the  bread  used  at 
our  communion  service,  and  is  thought  to  be,  after 
the  priest  blesses  it,  the  real  body  of  Christ.  Now, 
after  the  consecration  a  little  bell  is  rung,  this  wafer 

*Such  is  not  the  case  now,  I  am  told  by  those  who  visit  Catholic 
countries  abroad.  It  is  not  many  years,  however,  since  Protest- 
ants were  made  to  suffer  severely  for  any  such  offense. 


72  AG  NO. 

is  raised,  and  while  the  change  is  going  on,  called 
transubstantiation — a  long  word  for  you  young 
folks — everybody  kneels.  This  is  the  elevation  of 
the  host. 

The  silence  in  a  Catholic  church  at  this  time  is 
very  impressive  to  many,  oppressive  to  me,  because 
I  think  very  differently  about  these  things. 

"  Fortunes  ? "  Yes,  yes,  I  will  tell  your  fortunes. 
Show  me  your  palms.     You  first,  Lilie. 

I  see,  in  a  beautiful  wood,  a  tall,  handsome-look- 
ing man  ;  he  has  his  hair  curled,  and  a  curious  way 
of  always  keeping  his  broad-brimmed  hat  on,  even 
in  the  presence  of  distinguished  people.  He  wears 
a  very  old-fashioned  dress  ;  waistcoat,  almost  as 
long  as  his  coat,  buttoned  down  to  his  waist  ;  his 
coat-sleeves  are  very  loose  at  the  wrist ;  his  shoes 
are  low,  stockings  long  and  buckled  over  his  knee  ; 
he  is  talking  with  a  great  many  men  who  wear 
bright  feathers  in  their  hair.  They  smoke  together. 
Ah !  little  girl !  you  have  quaker  blood  in  your 
veins.  Your  life  has  been  a  peaceful  one.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  past  to  regret. 

"  The  future  .^ "  This  line  on  the  palm  indicates 
a  long  life — if  you  live ! 


AG  NO.  73 

Jupiter,  Mars,  Saturn,  Venus  !  Yes  ;  here  is  the 
fourth  finger  very  straight,  I  think  you  will  be  an 
honest  little  girl  if  you  are  very  careful  not  to  take 
anything  that  does  not  belong  to  you  ! 

Jupiter !  This  first  finger,  the  Jupiter  finger, 
says,  "She  has  a  very  nice  little  mistress,  upon 
whose  strict  integrity  her  friends  can  always  rely  ; 
that  she  never  lies  down  at  night  without  thanking 
the  dear  Lord  for  giving  her  such  good  parents,  and 
such  nice  things,  and  asking  Him  to  take  care  of 
her,  and  then  feeling  safe  in  His  care.  She  does 
not  forget  when  she  is  enjoying  her  breakfast,  and 
she  does  enjoy  it,  that  the  same  One  who  has 
watched  over  her  sleep  has  provided  all  the  materi- 
als from  which  it  was  prepared."  It  is  easy  to 
prophecy  for  her.  "  He  who  neither  slumbers  nor 
sleeps  shall  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways." 

"Jupiter,  Mars,  Saturn,  Venus."  Harry  wants 
his  fortune  told  }  Well,  sir,  I  think  you  must  pay 
me  something  for  your  fortune. 

How  strange  !      The  same  people  with   bright 
feathers  in  their  hair ;  they  roam  the  forests. 
6 


74  AG  NO. 

Here  is  a  village.  In  one  of  its  tents  is  a  king 
seated  on  a  mat  made  of  some  kind  of  a  skin.  He 
has  a  string  of  wampum  round  his  neck,  a  bow  and 
arrow  by  his  side.     He  is  rich. 

Young  man,  your  ears  and  eyes  are  quick.  Not 
very  long  ago,  a  beautiful  Indian  princess  ran  wild 
in  her  father's  hunting  grounds.  That  girl  was 
your  ancestor. 

Jupiter,  Mars,  Saturn,  Venus !  Jupiter,  Mars. 
Your  Mars  finger  says,  "That  your  mother  often 
finds  you  out  at  the  heels,  at  the  toes,  at  the  elbows, 
at  the  knees,  and  not  often  out  of  mischief." 

Jupiter,  Mars,  Saturn  !  Your  Saturn  finger  says, 
"  That  Mars  is  right  about  the  mischief  part,  for  he 
knows  who  poured  the  oil  all  out  of  his  mother's 
lamps  and  filled  them  with  sand ;  hid  himself  in  the 
flour  barrel,  and  mixed  cakes  enough  for  breakfast ; 
and  cut  the  pictures  all  out  of  his  geography  and 
sold  them  for  pins  ! " 

Your  Jupiter  finger  says,  "  He  hopes  his  young 
master  has  sowed  all  his  wild  oats,  for  he  thinks  he 
must  have  learned  by  this  time  that  they  never  will 


AG  NO.  75 

be  allowed  to  grow  until  he  comes  of  age,  for  both 
his  father  and  mother  pull  them  up  before  they 
scarcely  have  time  to  sprout." 

Your  future !  I  see  great  buildings — granite- 
iron  fronts — stores  !  No  air  castles  there,  but  well 
founded  and  funded — if  you  are  temperate  and  up- 
right in  your  dealings,  and — "  mind  your  business." 

Harry  looks  thoughtful  and  says,  "  I  s'pose  I  do 
wear  my  clothes  out  dreadfully,  and  have  got  into  a 
great  deal  of  mischief  in  one  way  and  another,  but 
mother'l  have  her  reward  some  day  for  all  her  pa- 
tience and  patching." 

"  You  didn't  mean  such  a  fortune  as  this  .-'  You 
wanted  to  know  whether  you  would  be  through 
with  this  trip  in  time  for  Maggy  Donald's  party, 
and  if  your  mamma  would  get  you  that  new  pink 
silk  you  saw  at  Putman's  store." 

Well,  dear  Lilie,  I  do  not  think  it  is  quite  right 
to  pry  so  curiously  into  the  future.  It  seems  to  me 
a  little  like  peeping  into  letters  and  boxes  and  draw- 
ers that  do  not  belong  to  us,  which  I  consider  very 
dishonorable.  I  say  a  little  like  ;  it  is  very  little 
like  that,  because,  it  is  our  Heavenly  Father's  pur- 


7G  AG  NO. 

poses  that  we  are  questioning.  It  is  much  better 
for  us  not  to  know  what  he  has  in  store  for  us,  as 
you  will  learn  by  experience.  Fortune-telling  and 
fortune-tellers  will  do  for  pastime,  if  we  pay  no 
more  attention  to  it  or  them. 

"  Tell  all  your  fortunes  .■* "  "  You  all  want  to 
know  if  you  will  be  rich  .'' "  Well ;  stretch  out 
your  hands,  palms  up,  straight  as  you  can.  Oh  ! 
yes  ;  they  will  all  hold  water,  you  will  all  be  rich — 
if— 

"  The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." 

Massagno !  We  get  the  first  glimpse  of  Lake 
Luganno  here ! 

What  a  romantic  little  village !  Here  is  the 
handsome  villa  of  the  Consiliere  di  Stato  (Consil- 
yaree  de  Stato)  Col.  Luini.  It  is  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  his  daughter.  Let  us  walk  in  and  see 
how  life' goes  on  in  the  home  of  a  Swiss  peer. 

This  hill  will  give  us  a  little  exercise.  What 
clear  skies,  and  sparkling  waters ;  what  grand 
mountains,  and  happy-looking  valleys,  and  slopes, 
and  fields ! 

Here  we  are  at  the  very  entrance  to  the  gardens 


AG  NO.  77 

of  Luini.  The  tropics  and  the  temperate  zones  dis- 
play their  treasures  in  harmony  with  each  other. 
Pines,  oaks,  and  chestnuts,  oranges,  lemons,  and 
grapes,  separated  only  by  transparent  doors,  flour- 
ish abundantly  in  this  charming  spot. 

This  great  stone  house,  with  its  deep  windows 
and  high  walls,  will  open  its  doors  very  hospitably 
to  us,  I  think.  Yes  ;  and  the  lady  "  will  be  most 
happy  to  have  us  dine  with  her." 

Rather  unceremonious  to  be  sure,  and  it  will  re- 
quire some  patience  and  self-possession  to  sit 
through  twenty  courses,  and  not  make  any  wry 
faces  at  the  strangely  cooked  food.  They  probably 
would  be  equally  unwilling  to  dine  upon  some  of 
our  dishes. 

Certainly,  there  are  other  children  here.  The 
Swiss  are  unlike  the  English  in  this  particular.  In 
England  the  children  are  not  allowed  at  the  table 
with  their  parents  at  all,  that  is,  among  what  is 
called  genteel  people,  they  eat  with  their  governess, 
and  the  ladies  there  leave  the  table  when  the  wine 
is  put  on  ;  but  here  it  is  not  so.     The  Swiss  are 


78  AG  NO. 

very  careful  not  to  have  anything  said  or  done  that 
would  exert  a  bad  influence  upon  the  children. 

You  see,  the  first  course  is  some  appetizer  like 
capers,  or  celery,  eaten  with  oil  and  pepper  ;  then 
sausages  cold,  and  in  every  form,  made  from  the 
head  of  the  pig ;  or  cold  tongue ;  or  brains  prepared 
with  eggs  and  fried ;  then  soup ;  next  fish ;  next 
baked  meats,  followed  by  a  turkey  stuffed  with 
chestnuts. 

Of  every  kind,  each  one  will  take  a  little,  -having 
the  knife  and  fork  and  plate  changed  each  time. 
The  cloth  is  now  removed,  and  the  desert,  in  the 
shape  of  all  sorts  of  puddings  and  pies,  sweetmeats, 
nuts,  wine,  etc.,  is  brought  on.  Wine  of  a  sour  kind 
is  drunk  all  through  the  dinner. 

Upon  the  walls  are  hunting  accoutrements  and 
pictures  of  game  and  fruit.  The  floor  is  made  of 
nicely  polished  .wood,  in  mosaic,  or  composition, 
kept  polished  with  oil.  We  must  look  well  to  our 
ways,  for  it  is  as  smooth  as  glass. 

In  the  large  parlors  are  pictures  from  the  old  and 
young  masters,  choice  bits  of  sculpture,  an  elegant 


AG  NO. 


79 


clock  that  will  play  for  us  a  different  tune  for  every 
hour,  finely  carved  furniture,  an  exquisite  table  in 
mosaic,  as  fine  as  are  the  ornaments  your  mammas 
wear  in  their  ears,  besides,  all  sorts  of  knickknacks. 

"  You  would  be  contented  here  ?  " 

Not  long.  "  New  England,  my  home  o'er  the 
sea,"  you  would  be  likely  to  sing,  I  think. 


80  ELIZA  AND  HER   CATS. 


CHAPTER    X. 


ELIZA    AND    HER    CATS. 


Now,  Lilie,  your  cat  stories. 

"  Well,  I  began  about  Sambo,  but  the  cats  all  be- 
long to  Eliza,  perhaps  you  would  like  to  know  about 
her  first. 

Eliza  is  our  girl,  you  know,  and  she  is  very  queer. 
She  spells  her  name  this  way :  she  calls  e  a,  a,  lyi, 
li,  E  li,  zed,  r,  za,  Eliza.  Isn't  it  funny }  Jug  she 
spells  this  way :  jaw,  u,  g,  and  she  calls  it  joog. 
She  is  so  queer ! 

You  might  think,  to  hear  her  talk,  that  she  is 
unkind.  She  told  me  the  other  day  she  would  give 
my  cat  to  the  bird,  I  mean  my  bird  to  the  cat 
'  Joot,'  as  she  calls  her,  her  name  is  Jet,  a  coal- 
black  one,  but  she  didn't  mean  it. 

Mother   says,     '  She's   a   real   diamond   in    the 


"  This  is  her  picture,  the  only  one  she  ever  had  takenJ 


ELIZA   AND  HER   CATS.  81 

rough.'  I  wish  you  could  just  see  her  once.  She's 
always  neat  and  tidy,  no  matter  what  she's  doing. 

Such  white  teeth  and  rosy  lips  !  Her  face  is  as 
clean  and  fair,  with  a  great  dimple  in  her  cheek. 
When  she  laughs  you  can  have  no  doubt  who  it  is, 
for  it  rings  all  over  the  house. 

She  isn't  handsome,  but  I  like  her  ;  mother  likes 
her  ;  the  baby  cries  after  her,  and  father  likes  her, 
and  she  likes  cats.  Why,  she  has  had  three  at  a 
time,  besides  two  kittens  ! 

This  is  her  picture,  the  only  one  she  ever  had 
taken.  See  the  white  muslin  band  around  her 
neck,  with  embroidered  ends  ;  and  her  white  apron. 
This  is  the  way  slie  looks  in  the  afternoon.  Don't 
you  think  she's  nice  .-*  She  came  from  the  north  of 
Ireland. 

Three  cats  and  two  kittens !  Sambo,  Jet,  and 
Daisy.  Sambo  is  gray,  large  and  handsome.  Jet 
is  black,  and  Daisy  was  white,  with  just  a  little 
gray  on  her  tail.     Daisy  is  dead  ! 

One  day  she  came  into  the  sitting-room  bringing 
her  kitten,  and  Eliza  thought  she  would  see  what 
she  would  do  ;    so  she  opened  the  door  into  the 


82  ELIZA   AND  HER   CATS. 

front  entry  where  she  seemed  to  want  to  go,  and 
followed  her  up  two  pairs  of  stairs  to  the  door  of  an 
unfrequented  garret.  She  never  was  allowed  to  go 
there  before.  There  she  stopped  and  mewed  at 
Eliza  to  open  the  door.  Then  she  took  her  kitten 
and  put  it  down  through  a  very  small  hole  in  under 
the  floor,  and  left  it.  The  next  morning  Daisy  was 
lying  on  the  stoop,  dead  !  Eliza  said,  '  She  knew 
she  was  going  to  die,  and  wanted  to  take  care  of 
the  kitten  ; '  but,  I  should  think  she  wanted  the 
kitten  to  starve,  too,  else,  why  didn't  she  leave  her 
where  we  could  take  care  of  her  better." 

Florence,  who  had  been  busy  with  her  pencil, 
spoke  out  here  and  said,  "  I  guess  she  wanted  to 
take  her  kitten  with  her  to  where  the  good  cats  go." 

"  This  same  cat  was  left  at  home  alone  once — 
Eliza  had  but  one  then — for  two  or  three  weeks.  She 
grew  very  hungry,  and  a  boy  enticed  her  into  his 
father's  barn  and  fed  her  with  new  milk  night  and 
morning.  Soon,  he  found  she  had  four  kittens  away 
up  on  the  hay,  ever  so  high.  He  was  very  much 
pleased,  but  just  as  soon  as  we  got  home,  Daisy 
knew  it,  and  came  bringing  her  kittens  one  at  a 


ELIZA   AND  HER   CATS.  83 

time,  from  that  hay-mow,  over  three  board  fences  ! 
By  the  time  three  had  been  taken  safely,  the  cat 
was  pretty  tired.  After  resting  awhile,  she  went 
back  for  the  fourth,  and  she  purred  very  happily 
when  they  were  all  there. 

The  boy  cried  dreadfully.  He  took  them  back 
once,  but  puss  wouldn't  let  them  stay,  she  would 
have  them  in  her  own  home." 

Yes ;  cats  are  very  unwilling  to  leave  their 
homes.  It  is  so  unlike  them  to  do  it,  that  people 
are  superstitious  about  it.  I  knew  a  cat  to  desert 
the  house  where  she  was  reared,  because  it  was  be- 
ing repaired.  She  disappeared,  nobody  knew  where. 
After  a  time  she  made  her  appearance  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, taking  up  her  abode  with  another  member 
of  the  family,  in  an  entirely  new  house.  But  I  have 
interrupted  you  Lilie,  go  on,  please. 

"  I  wanted  to  tell  you  about  Sambo.  He  was  one 
of  Eliza's  kittens.  She  gave  him  away  to  a  neigh- 
bor, a  few  doors  away.  Two  or  three  years  after, 
Sambo's  mistress  moved,  and  Sambo  asked  Eliza, 
she  declares  he  did  ss'c  her  to  take  him  back.  Of 
course  she  did,  and  he  is  with  us  now. 


84  ELIZA   AND  HER   CATS. 

He  is  the  funniest  cat,  the  sliest,  smoothest  old 
puss  that  ever  you  saw.  You  ought  to  see  him 
manage  with  a  kitten  ! 

When  he  thinks  we  are  not  looking,  he  will  box 
its  ears  and  be  very  cross,  but  let  any  of  us  observe 
him,  and  he  puts  on  the  sweetest  look,  licks  the  kit- 
ten's face,  and  makes  all  manner  of  friendly  demon- 
strations. 

One  time  mother  had  made  some  giblet  soup 
which  she  left  in  a  tureen  on  a  table.  Sambo 
smelled  it.  I  suppose  he  thought,  how  nice  it  is  ! 
and  jumped  upon  the  table  to  help  himself  Mother 
saw  him  take  out  one  of  the  giblets  with  his  paw, 
and  throw  it  down  to  the  little  kitten  on  the  floor. 
Didn't  he  get  a  good  whipping  for  meddling.^" 

"  What !  for  acting  out  his  nature  t "  says  Nelly. 

"  Yes  ;  hadn't  mother  a  right  to  act  out  her  na- 
ture too  ?  Nature  to  eat  giblet  soup  !  He  did  not 
behave  well  at  all,  Eliza  should  have  taught  him 
better  manners,  that  is  all." 

Well,  Florence,  your  pencil  has  been  pretty  busy  ; 
let  us  see  what  it  has  accomplished. 

"  Kits,  cats,  sacks  and  wives." 


ELIZA   AND  HER  CATS.  85 

Sambo,  sure  enough ! 

This  is  Jet,  of  course,  and  the  giblet  soup  scene  ? 

"  But  Jet  is  Eliza's  favorite.  She  follows  her 
round  just  like  a  dog.  I  believe  she  can  understand 
what  we  say  ;  for  if  we  tell  her  to  go  find  Eliza  she 
trots  right  off  after  her.  Mother  says,  *  cats  are  fond 
of  clean  things,  that  she  can  never  get  a  room 
cleaned  and  the  bed  nicely  made  up  with  fresh 
clean  clothes,  that  Jet  will  not  find  her  way  directly 
into  it,  and  place  herself  right  in  the  nicest  part  of 
it,'  and  I  believe  she  likes  ruffled  shams  to  lie  on. 
Jet,  you  know,  I  told  you,  followed  Eliza  round,  just 
like  a  dog.  Well,  one  day  Eliza's  clean  apron  was 
put  cut  on  the  ground  to  dry,  and  mother  saw  Jet 
lying  on  it ;  after  that  Eliza's  dress  was  lying  on 
the  top  of  the  clothes  horse,  which  was  hung  up  on 
some  high  nails,  and  she  saw  Jet  lying  away  up 
there.  Wasn't  that  like  a  dog's  love  for  his  master  .!• 
I  asked  Eliza  what  Jet  did  that  was  wonderful,  she 
said,  '  She  did  nothing  bad.' 

She  drives  all  the  other  cats  away,  and  we 
thought,  one  day.  Jet  spoke  to  a  cat  and  told  her  to 
go  out  of  the  yard,  she  made  a  noise  that  sounded 


86  ELIZA   AND  HER  CATS. 

very  like  it.  It  seems  to  me  cats  think.  Why ! 
Jet  will  keep  a  mouse  all  night  to  show  to  Eliza  in 
the  morning,  so  she  will  be  praised.  She  knows 
when  there  is  any  meat  in  the  house,  too  ;  just  as 
soon  as  she  hears  the  knife  sharpened  she  runs  very 
fast  to  get  her  piece.  They  must  think,  how  else 
could  they  learn  to  open  doors.  I  have  seen  Jet 
many  a  time  jump  up  and  rattle  the  door-latch  till 
she  succeeded  in  opening  it. 

I  have  heard  people  say  that  cats  were  treacher- 
ous and  deceitful.  Now,  Jet  is  not  treacherous  to 
Eliza.  She  will  allow  her  to  rub  her  back  the 
wrong  way  and  not  even  growl,  but  if  anybody  else 
attempts  to  meddle  with  her,  she  will  growl  and 
put  out  her  claws.  I  think  it  is  because  Eliza  is 
always  kind  to  her." 

Your  stories  have  interested  me  very  much.  For 
one,  I  must  plead  guilty  to  a  dislike  for  cats,  wliich 
distresses  one  of  my  little  friends  very  much,  al- 
though I  have  learned  to  be  pleasanter  in  my  man- 
ners to  them,  from  the  good  example  set  me  by  a 
big  boy  friend,  who  has  always  a  kind  word  for 
puss.     There  never  has  been  any  room  in  my  house 


ELTZA   AND  HER   CATS.  87 

for  a  cat.  Now,  I  will  try  to  be  more  of  a  Chris- 
tian, and  Tabby  shall  have  a  place  on  my  rug,  when 
I  get  the  rug  ;  it  isn't  nice  to  have  them  lying  on 
beds,  or  on  nice  chairs,  or  sofas,  or  the  tablecloth  ! 
Tabby  shall  have  a  nice  soft  chair  made  expressly 
for  her — that  she  shall. 

"  Didn't  tell  you ! "  You  poor  children  been 
standing  with  your  hands  stretched  out  ever  since 
your  fortunes  were  told !  Why,  Florence,  that  was 
a  better  subject  for  your  pencil  than  Lilie's  cats  ! 
You  couldn't  resist  catching  your  pencil  could  you, 
little  puss,  hands  or  not.  Well,  children,  I  will 
countermand  immediately  all  such  orders,  once  for 
all,  we  are  no  longer  in  school,  and  you  are  at  liber- 
ty to  put  your  hands  in  all  sorts  of  favorable  posi- 
tions. 

"  Soldiers  in  Switzerland  !  "  Yes  ;  every  man  is 
a  soldier,  but  there  is  no  standing  army.  But  "  To 
return  to  our  muttons  ; "  as  I  was  saying,  I  am 
very  much  interested  in  cats,  and  I  ask  every  cat's 
pardon  that  thinks,  for  all  the  unkind  thoughts  I 
have  ever  had  of  her. 

Lilie  says,  "  she  is  not  treacherous,  but  very  lev- 


88  ELIZA   AND  HER  CATS. 

ing  and  kind  to  her  friends ; "  is  a  good,  careful 
mother — did  you  say  ? 

She  is,  naturalists  say.  She  does  not  like  water 
very  well,  a  little  nervous  about  wetting  her  feet, 
likes  her  home  and  the  people  in  it,  has  been  known 
to  forsake  even  a  good  habitation  where  its  human- 
ity was  inhuman.  Indeed,  in  her  native  country, 
Egypt,  she  was  held  in  so  much  reverence  that 
when  one  died,  the  master  of  the  house  shaved  his 
eyebrows  and  set  his  house  in  order  as  for  a  great 
event.  There  are  several  varieties  of  the  house 
cat.  The  Angora,  a  beautiful  animal  with  long 
silky  brownish  white  fur  or  hair,  the  tail  curling  up 
over  the  body  in  quite  an  artistic  manner,  with 
sparkling  blue  or  yellow  eyes,  is  a  native  of  Asia* 
Minor,  comes  mostly  from  Smyrna ;  the  tortoise 
shell  cat,  which  comes  from  Spain  ;  the  Maltese, 
from  Malta,  as  its  name  indicates  ;  and  the  Manx 
cat,  a  to  be  pitied  variety,  without  any  tail,  found 
on  the  Isle  of  Man. 

It  is  not  very  long  since  cats  were  introduced 
into  England.  At  first,  quite  a  price  was  paid  for 
them   and  they  were  protected  by  law,  but  they 


ELIZA   AND  HER  CATS.  89 

were  obliged  to  be  good  mousers.  None  were  kept, 
as  I  understand  it,  that  didn't  catch  mice.  It  is 
thought  that  the  reason  why  cats  were  so  much  rev- 
erenced by  the  Egyptians,  was  because  the  coun- 
try was  so  troubled  by  rats  and  mice.  I  think  it 
is  a  fact  that  rats  are  more  troublesome  in  a  flat, 
dampish  sort  of  land  than  where  it  is  higher  and 
drier. 

Yes  ;  the  cat  shall  have  a  rug  all  to  herself  in  my 
house.  She  shall  give  up  all  her  cat  notions  about 
water  though  ;  that,  it  seems  to  me  is  rather  simple. 
Afraid  of  wetting  her  paws  !  I  shall  wet  her  paws 
for  her  till  she  gets  used  to  it.  "  She  won't  stay 
with  me ! "  But,  I  will  make  it  so  pleasant  for  her 
— if  she  will  keep  off  my  bed,  not  insist  upon  sitting 
on  the  tablecloth,  or  getting  into  the  band-box 
where  is  my  best  bonnet — and  let  me  wash  her 
paws.  "  She  won't  let  me  wash  her  paws,  mother 
tried  it ! "  Well,  she  may  come  without  washing 
her  paws,  it  is  her  nature,  I  suppose.  I'll  have 
poor  pussy,  nature  and  all ;  but  I  believe  if  every- 
body's cat's  paws  should  be  washed  for  two  or  three 
7 


90  ELIZA   AND  HER  CATS. 

generations  it  would  make  a  difference,  don't  you 
think  so,  children  ? 

Charley  whistled,  Hiram  threw  his  cap  up  and 
caught  it  two  or  three  times,  and  Harry  said, 
"  Three  cheers  for  the  cats  ! "  Mabel  said,  very 
softly,  "  I  am  going  to  have  an  Angora  cat.  Uncle 
George  had  one  and  he  pierced  its  ears  and  put  in 
red  ribbons.  Its  name  was  Silky.  Uncle  George 
got  married  last  winter,  and  moved  into  a  new 
house,  and  Silky  went  with  him  ;  but  she  visited 
her  old  home  every  day." 

Lugann^ !  It  is  most  time  to  hear  from  John. 
Perhaps  we  shall  get  a  letter  here. 


Jet,  I  )aisy,  and  the  Giblet  Soup  scene. 


LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHNS  LETTER.  91 


CHAPTER    XI. 

LUGANNO   AND  JOHN's   LETTER. 

This  is  quite  a  place — a  theater,  two  churches, 
and  silk  manufactories,  I  should  think  it  might  be 
a  sort  of  trading  town  for  the  country  population. 
The  streets  look  narrow. 

Oh,  you've  got  it ;  I  thought  we  should  hear  from 
him  here.  Let  us  see  what  it  says.  "  To  you," 
oh !  pardon,  "  I  may  read  it."  How  pleasant  it  is 
to  receive  a  letter  when  we  are  among  strangers  ! 
We  are  interested  in  the  least  little  bit  of  gossip 
that  relates  to  home  affairs,  when  we  are  away  from 
it. 

Chicago,  Cook  Co.,  III. 
Dear  George : 

I  felt  pretty  sober  the  day  you  left,  I  can  tell  you  \ 


92  LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER. 

didn't  care  so  much  for  the  overcoat  as  I  thought. 
There  has  been  plenty  need  of  it  here,  for  it  has 
been  as  cold  as  "  Greenland's  icy  mountains."  We 
had  a  strong  idea  of  setting  up  one  of  Ferguson's 
heaters  out  doors,  to  see  if  it  wouldn't  bring  the 
old  fellow  into  something  of  a  melting  mood.  The 
thermometer  turned  up-side-down,  it  was  so  icy. 
March  is  a  wild  chap  in  his  young  days — good  deal 
of  bluster  and  blow — blow  away !  The  harder  you 
blow  the  harder  I  shall  hold  on  to  my  coat.  Good 
time  to  make  sugar  if  we  had  some  of  those  rock 
maples  that  grow  up  in  Vairmount ;  can't  squeeze 
much  sugar  out  of  these  cotton-woods,  though.  We 
had  an,  awful  time  with  one  of  Jack  Harding's 
horses  the  other  day.  He  got  into  a  quick-sand 
away  up  on  Prairie  Avenue,  and  the  harder  he  tried 
to  get  out,  the  deeper  he  sank  into  the  sand.  It 
took  four  men  to  raise  him  out  of  his  "  little  bed." 

Sam  Weston's  dog,  I  heard,  went  of  his  own  ac- 
cord to  have  his  picture  taken  to  send  to  you,  but 
it  was  so  cold  the  photographer  couldn't  stand  still 
long  enough,  so  poor  doggie  came  back,  disconsolate, 
without  it,  but  he  sends  his  love.     He  is  decidedly 


LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER.  93 

dogistic  ;  don't  you  think  so  ?  Sam  Haines  has 
a  "  King  Charles  spaniel  that  will  play  tag  with  the 
boys  just  as  well  as  any  of  them  do.  He  will  dart 
away  from  the  boy  who  happens  to  be  tag  just  as 
the  boys  do  ;  then  when  he  thinks  it  is  about  time 
for  him  to  have  his  turn  at  catching  the  boys,  he 
will  stand  still  to  be  caught.  When  he  tags  it  is 
by  putting  his  teeth  into  their  trousers  leg." 

I  did  not  get  quite  used  to  your  absence  for  two 
or  three  days,  but  concluded,  at  last,  it  was  no  use 
to  "  cry  for  spilt  milk,"  so  Will  Myers  and  I  joined 
partnership  and  set  up  a  carpenter's  shop  out  in  the 
back  yard.  We  bought  eighteen  hundred  feet  of 
boards — got  them  low,  about  sixty-five  cents  a  hun- 
dred— four  thousand  shingles  cost  us  two  dollars. 
Mother  let  us  have  some  old  window  sash  and  a 
door  that  was  about  the  house  ;  we  did  all  the 
joiner  and  masonry  work  ourselves,  there  were 
bricks  enough  about  the  house  to  build  the  chim- 
ney, so  that  didn't  cost  anything.  When  the  shop 
was  done — it  measured  about  fifteen  feet  by  twelve 
— we  made  a  bench  out  of  the  lumber  that  was  left. 


94  LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER. 

set  up  our  kit  of  tools,  and  my  emery-wheel  that  I 
had  last  winter  down  in  the  cellar.  Will  brought 
his  printing-press,  it  is  a  little  hand-press  that  his 
father  gave  him  last  Christmas.  We  set  up  an  old 
stove,  and  made  a  fire.  I  tell  you  what,  didn't  we 
look  cozy  and  like  business. 

We  are  prepared  now  to  do  anything  in  our  line 
as  well  as  anybody  in  the  city — from  kitchen  tables 
to  hotels.  Had  one  order  come  in  last  night  for  a 
black  walnut  table.  Ferguson,  the  heater  man, 
calls  upon  us  if  he  wants  any  little  thing  done,  and 
he  is  as  good  as  an  advertisement  for  every  day  in 
the  week.  Any  printing  you  want  done  here's  the 
place,  from  wedding  cards  to  bill  posters,  any  tools 
polished,  come  on  with  your  hoes,  it  can  be  done  as 
well  with  my  emery-wheel  as  anybody's  in  the  city. 
When  we  get  tired  we  just  take  a  nap  on  the  bench. 

One  night,  just  for  the  novelty  of  it,  mother  let 
us  sleep  out  in  the  shop.  She  don't  like  that 
though,  and  so  we  have  never  asked  her  but  once. 
Mother!  how  I  do  pity  boys  that  haven't  got  a  good 
mother !     It  would  break  my  heart,  I  do  believe,  to 


LUGANNO  AND  JOHN'S   LETTER.  95 

worry  her.  She  and  father  too,  are  so  wilHng  to 
let  us  do  anything  that  is  healthy,  even  if  it  makes 
them  a  little  trouble.  Our  house  didn't  cost  much 
all  told,  about  fourteen  dollars,  and  Will  and  I 
earned  that  ourselves. 

How  do  you  all  do  ?  Had  any  break-downs  or 
turn-overs  ?  There's  one  thing  I've  thought  a  good 
deal  about.  That  is  the  seeds  of  that  apple  William 
Tell  shot  from  his  son's  head.  They  must  have 
been  pretty  well  scattered  about.  I  wonder  if  you 
couldn't  get  me  a  few  cuttings  from  some  of  the 
trees  that  sprung  up  from  them }  With  my  car- 
penter's turn  I  have  quite  a  taste  for  apple  culture. 
'Twould  sound  pretty  well,  the  William  Tell  apple, 
don't  you  think  it  would }  Then  there's  another 
thing,  couldn't  you  dig  around  those  lakes  in  Swit- 
zerland where  are  the  buried  cities  and  bring  me  a 
few  of  the  coin  the  people  of  that  time  used  ?  I 
don't  know  as  it  is  quite  the  thing  for  me  to  ask  so 
many  favors  when  I  refused  to  go  with  yon,  but  the 
world  will  not  regret  my  stay  at  home,  considering 
what  an  advantage  my  shop  is  to  them.  I  havn't 
stopped  to  punctuate  this  much.     I'll  try  to  have 


96  LUG  AN  NO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER. 

the  periods  right  and  put  a  few  commas  and  things 
at  the  bottom  as  Lord  Dexter  did.  Don't  let 
Grace  Brooks  and  Florence  Allen  see  this  letter. 
They  will  be  altogether  too  much  shocked  at  such 
a  harum  scarriim  sort  of  a  fellow. 

Tell  Willie  Jackson,  I  don't  suppose  he  has  said 
a  word  all  through  your  journey  !  tell  him  Charles 
Fobes  has  got  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  differ- 
ent kinds  of  eggs.  His  mother  says  he  has  worn 
out  four  or  five  pairs  of  pants  climbing  trees  for 
bird's  nests,  and  his  father  says  it  is  quite  impossi- 
ble to  keep  him  in  shoe  leather.  Mother  says  she 
would  much  rather  make  him  one  pair  of  pants  a 
week,  and  have  him  hunt  birds  nests,  than  lounge 
round  the  corner  store,  hearing  such  conversa- 
tion, listening  to  all  the  village  gossip.  What  a  pity 
'tis  that  stores  are  such  places  for  idlers.  Now 
there  is  Mr.  Frank,  he  will  not  allow  people  idling 
about  his  premises.  Ladies  hate  to  go  to  trade 
there,  and  I  should  think  they  would  begin  to  find 
out  that  it  was  not  for  their  interest  to  keep  such  a 
place.  If  they  gain  one  kind  of  custom,  they  lose 
another,  better.     I  am  glad  mother  has  kept  me 


LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER.  97 

away  now,  but  I  used  to  think  I  might  go  as  well 
as  some  other  boys. 

Jim  Russell  came  in  last  night  for  me  to  go  out 
boating  with  him  this  morning,  but  mother  has  al- 
ways been  so  unwilling  for  me  to  go.  on  the  Lake 
at  all,  that  she  was  almost  afraid  to  have  a  wash- 
tub  in  the  house  where  I  could  see  it,  for  fear  I 
might  not  be  able  to  control  my  love  for  the  water. 
I  take  to  it  about  as  readily  as  a  duck  does.  I  do 
not  blame  her  so  much.  Lake  Michigan  is  very 
angry  in  a  storm  and  they  come  up  very  quick  here, 
and  then  again,  there  are  no  little  islands  scattered 
about  to  flee  to,  as  in  New  York  and  Boston,  and 
away  down  East  or  along  the  coast  of  the  State  of 
Maine.  If  you  happen  to  be  caught  out  there  you 
can  scud  in  most  anywhere,  but  this  great  blue  lake, 
it  looks  like  an  ocean. 

Jim  has  a  splendid  boat  though,  I  did  want  to  go 
out  in  her.  She  is  fifteen  feet  long,  four  wide  and 
eighteen  inches  deep,  built  of  hard  pine,  sharp 
bowed,  stern  two  feet  wide  fourteen  deep  ;  the  cox- 
swain board  made  of  ash  with  the  name  on  a  silver 


98  LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER. 

plate  ;  the  grating  in  the  bow  made  of  black  walnut 
and  ash,  yoke  and  rowlocks  made  of  brass,  tiller 
ropes,  silk,  for  dress  up,  you  know,  ash  mouldings, 
bottom  painted  white  with  just  a  tint  of  green,  up- 
per part  oiled  and  varnished.  Three  thorts  and 
benches  each  side.  Ain't  she  a  beauty  though,  cost 
seventy-five  dollars.  Jim's  father  had  her  made  to 
order  by  Deguio  &  Doyle,  Portland,  Maine.  I'm 
going  East,  if  nothing  happens,  another  summer, 
and  mother  will  not  be  so  afraid  to  have  me  row 
out  in  the  harbors  there. 

Don't  let  the  girls  see  this  letter,  but  tell  Mabel 
her  doll's  hat  blew  into  the  mud  once  and  I  wiped 
it  on  my  coat  sleeve,  and  her  mother  said  there 
should  be  no  lack  of  cookies  when  she  got  back, 
and  the  last  I  saw  of  the  kitten  she  was  barking  up 
a  tree. 

I  like  the  girls,  but  they  are  so  particular  about 
what  a  fellow  says  and  how  he  says  it,  that,  this 
letter  is  not  for  them  to  read. 

Now  that  about  the  thermometer  turning  upside 
down  because  it  was  so  cold,  and  doggie's  going  to 


LUGANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER.  99 

have  his  picture  taken,  well,  it  rather  spoils  a  joke 
to  have  to  explain  it,  you  know  ;  that  about  the 
horse  getting  into  the  quicksand,  and  Sam  Haines' 
dog,  is  real  truth.  I  saw  it  myself,  boys  will  be 
boys,  so  don't  show  this  letter  to  the  girls.  I  think 
too  much  of  myself  to  use  profane  or  vulgar  lan- 
guage anywhere  or  at  any  time,  but  I  must  have 
some  fun  if  the  thermometer  does  stand  on  its 
head. 

Give  my  love  to  the  girls  and  tell  them  I  was 
sorry  not  to  go,  but  what  would  have  become  of 
Mr.  Ferguson  .-•  I  used  to  think  whin  I  heard  him 
talk  about  his  heaters,  that  it  was  a  great  mistake 
in  Dr.  Kane  not  to  have  lived  in  this  day.  If  he 
had  only  had  one  of  his  heaters  he  could  have  gone 
right  straight  through  an  iceberg,  and  made  an 
open  polar  sea. 

I  say  what  would  have  become  of  Mr.  Ferguson 
without  that  carpenter's  shop  !  Oh  !  we  have  had 
a  circus  here,  one  of  the  best  you  know,  all  the 
animals  of  all  the  zones,  grandma  went  with  me.  I 
don't  think  she  enjoyed  it  much,  she  said  the  seats 
wern't  wider  than  a  slice  of  bread. 


100 


LUG  ANNO  AND  JOHN'S  LETTER. 


Don't  let  the  girls  read  my  letter,  but  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  read  one  from  them. 
Adieu,  from  your  loving 

Jack. 
Mr.  George  Jones, 

Lugano,  Canton  Tcino, 

Switzerland. 

It  is  a  most  unfortunate  thing  that  he  did  not 
mark  his  letter  private  and  confidential,  but  now, 
as  he  says,  it  is  not  much  use  to  cry  for  what  can- 
not be  helped.  The  girls  are  all  too  glad  to  hear 
from  him  I  know. 


The  Devil's  Bridge. 


MOUNTAINS.  101 


CHAPTER    XII. 


MOUNTAINS. 


"  Can  children  ask  too  many  questions  .-* "  I  re- 
peated to  Grace,  as  we  were  looking  at  the  far  off 
mountain  tops  glistening  in  the  rosy  light  of  the 
fresh  morning.  Will  there  be  any  danger  of  get- 
ting the  consumption  and  being  carried  like  the 
sick  acorn,  away  up  into  the  air,  if  we  pry  a  little 
into  the  history  of  those  mountains,  for  I  am  cer- 
tain they  have  one. 

I  am  sure  it  would  be  a  much  better  way  to 
spend  one's  time  generally,  than  to  be  questioning 
the  propriety  of  this  one's  manners,  or  that  one's 
mode  of  dress  ;  or  whether  Mrs.  A.  kept  a  girl,  or 
cliose  to  do  her  own  work  ;  or  if  the  cat  sat  on  the 
tablecloth  at  neighbor  Brown's,  a  doubt,  in  some 


102  MOUNTAINS. 

cases,  which  would  get  the  worst  of  it,  pussy,  or 
tablecloth. 

"  Tut,  tut,  ma'am,  you  had  better  be  prying  into 
that  mountain  chain — forbidden  ground  to  you." 

Well,  well,  I  won't  say  any  more  after  this,  but 
go  on  prying.  I  must  say,  just  this  once  for  all, 
that  I  do  enjoy  the  air  of  a  house  that  is  properly 
kept,  well  opened  two  or  three  times  a  day,  beds 
well  aired  every  morning,  carpets,  if  we  have  them, 
which  is  of  very  little  account,  well  cleansed  twice 
a  year,  well  washed  dishes,  and  clean  tablecloths.  I 
insist  upon  this  last  item,  then  Madam  Grundy  may 
say  what  she  pleases  the  rest  of  the  time. 

Oh !  but  I  do  like  good  bread — not  sour,  nor 
sweet — with  soda — and,  now  I  think  of  it,  I  like  a 
great  many  things,  that  it  takes  a  great  deal  of  time 
to  make  ;  and  we  cannot  all  study  tills,  and  boulders, 
and  sandstones,  and  slates,  and  schists,  and  gray- 
wackes,  and  granites,  and  gneiss ;  but  we  must  all 
talk  and  be  amused  after  we  have  got  our  work  done ; 
and  so,  who  cares  what  Mrs.  Grundy  says,  only, 
dear  Grace,  learn  to  discriminate  between  truth  and 
error.    Do  not  judge  people  or  things  hastily.    We, 


MOUNTAINS.  103 

and  what  a  blessed  thing  it  is  so,  all  differ  from 
each  other,  no  two  thinking  or  acting  alike  ;  what  a 
world  it  would  be  were  it  otherwise ! 

Look  at  the  different  sects  among  Ciiristians.  It 
seems  to  me  very  like  our  school.  Now,  I  could 
not  talk  to  Charley  Jones  as  I  can  to  you,  he  would 
not  know  what  I  meant.  Still,  he  can  be  made  to 
understand  enough  for  his  age,  and,  of  course,  as 
he  advances,  he  can  comprehend  what  you  do  now. 
Human  nature  is  the  same  among  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  the  high  and  the  low.  We  are  all  ambitious 
to  be  heard,  and  in  many  cases  if  a  brother  or  sis- 
ter has  not  influence  enough  in  one  place  to  make 
known  his  ideas  and  have  them  appreciated,  he 
will  go  to  another  ;  thus  comes  the  Adventist,  the 
Methodist,  the  Baptist,  the  Presbyterian,  the  Con- 
gregationalist,  the  low  church  and  the  high  church 
Episcopalian,  the  Catholic,  the  Universalist,  the 
Unitarian,  and  the  New  Church  man,  I  hope  no- 
body is  left  out,  all  right  and  we  hope  all  wrong ;  for, 
a  religion  based  on  "  Love  to  the  Lord,  and  to  the 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  must  be  right ;  while  doctrines, 
that    all    Christians   disagree,    one   with   another. 


104  MOUNTAINS. 

upon,  must  be  wrong,  since,  in  the  true  way,  "  the 
wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err,"  or 
wander,  and  with  that  good,  charitable  Robinson, 
who  prayed  so  fervently  with  the  Puritans  before 
they  left  Delfthaven,  we  hope  that  there  will  ever 
be  new  light  shed  upon  all  the  churches,  and  with 
him  we  trust  they  will  be  ready  to  receive  it. 

Yes,  it  is  pleasant  to  have  you  to  talk  with,  for 
we  should  both  tire,  always  to  bring  our  ideas  down 
to  children. 

See  !  how  the  light  changes  on  those  mouhtains, 
a  cloud  shadows  one,  and  the  sun  behind  lights  up 
another,  and  low  down  is  thrown  that  beautiful  blue 
veil,  which  enchants  the  eye  by  concealing  their 
rugged  inequalities,  suggesting  only  softness  and 
beauty. 

Dare  I  pry  into  the  age  of  this  mountain  ?  I  can 
just  inquire  if  he  knows  one  Potsdam  that  lived  in 
America  so  many  years  ago  } 

"Potsdam — Potsdam — related  to  old  calciferous 
— lived  before  my  time.     I  knew  Pliocene  well." 

He  is  not  so  old  as  I  thought — well  read — you 
see  he  has  heard  of  them. 


MOUNTAINS.  105 

"  I  have  a  very  good  reminder  of  his  time,  in  the 
plants  and  animals  of  my  cabinet,  as  also  of  an  ear- 
lier age  of  minerals,  collected  before  '  the  moun- 
tains were  brought  forth.' " 

Old,  I  shouldn't  think  he  could  have  a  tooth  in 
his  head,  and  am  not  at  all  surprised  at  his  bald- 
ness !  Why  !  at  that  rate,  he  has  lived  nearly  two 
hundred  thousand  years  !  Dear  me  !  before  his 
time  there's  Azoic,  nobody  knows  how  old  ;  then, 
Palaezoic  lived  after  him,  longer  than  Methuselah, 
multiplied  by  hundreds ;  next,  Mesozoic — their 
names  all  end  in  zoic — last  and  least,  perhaps,  is 
Cenozoic,  and  St.  Ghotardo  comes  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  life ! 

Zoic  must  mean  something — it  seems  like  a  sur- 
name— yes,  yes,  it  means  animal — a-zoic  without 
animal  life — the  first  age  of  the  world — was  "With- 
out form  and  void,"  "  Let  there  be  light,"  not 
solar,  but  chemical  light,  activity,  and  we  have  the 
second  day,  or  age,  the  Palaezoic,  or  ancient  animal 
life,  a  low  order,  consisting  of  all  the  divisions  of 
mollusk,  marine  plants,  sponges,  etc. 

A  third  age,  and  we  have  Mesozoic,  or  middle 
•  '        8 


106  MOUNTAINS. 

animal  life.  A  fourth  age,  and  Cenozoic,  or  recent 
animal  life,  this  fourth  age  taking  in  long  periods  of 
time,  and  many,  many  changes  preparatory  to  the 
grand  climax  of  animal  life,  man. 

Yes ;  this  record  written  on  tables  of  stone 
makes  the  world  very  old,  but  not  older  than  Moses 
makes  it  in  his  record,  I  think,  only,  in  his  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  he  has  given  us  the  whole  thing 
in  a  nutshell. 

"  Can  children  ask  too  many  questions,"  I  again 
asked  ;  and  the  mountain  answered,  "  Not  if  the 
children  are  pleasant  about  it,  and  answer  their  own 
questions.  I  am  not  ashamed  of  my  age  at  all ;  in- 
deed, my  neighbors  Mt.  Blanc  and  Rosa  are  older 
and  taller  than  myself,  and  the  American  Mt. 
Washington  claims  to  be  of  greater  antiquity  than 
these  last. 

But  what  is  age  here,  or  there  ?  Deeds,  not 
years,  make  our  lives  long  or  short.  Some  people 
do  a  great  deal  of  work  and  make  very  little  fuss 
about  it ;  others  are  not  contented  if  they  are  not 
both  seen  and  heard.  These  last  are  apt  to  be  bad 
tempered,  shedding  a  great  deal  of  light  sometimes, 
only  to  pull  down  and  destroy  at  others. 


MOUNTAINS.  107 

There's  Vesuvius — I  do  not  know  his  age,  he  is 
certainly  old  enough  to  begin  to  do  better — he  is 
always  in  a  state  of  excitement,  sputtering  and 
foaming  and  smoking,  keeping  up  such  a  fire  that 
he  often  boils  over,  and  destroys  whole  towns  and 
cities,  sparing  neither  sex  or  age, 

I  suppose  these  fermenters  have  their  mission. 
The  world  would  either  stagnate,  or  burst  up  entirely 
without  them.  They  act  as  safety  valves  upon  so- 
ciety, letting  off  the  steam  and  other  gases." 

Sure  enough,  I  thought,  what  is  age  here,  or 
there.  We  can  be  old — old  maids  even — and  if  we 
are  not  cross  and  ugly,  it  seems  to  me  the  world 
can  tolerate  us,  especially,  if  we  "  Love  God  and 
little  children." 

Yes  ;  "  it  is  time  to  make  our  journey."  The 
roads  are  passable  ;  you  have  fished  and  boated, 
explored  churches  and  grottoes,  played  with  dolls  and 
marbles,  and  eaten  plenty  of  the  most  delicious  figs 
and  grapes,  and  now  are  ready  for  the  ride  of  fifteen 
hours  over  that  venerable  mountain  pass  St.  Gho- 
tardo.  Ghotardo  is  not  one,  as  you  may  have 
thought,  but  rather,  a  chain  of  mountains. 


108  MOUNTAINS. 

The  reader  that  would  follow  our  route  will 
please  turn  to  the  little  map  of  Switzerland  at  the 
beginning  of  the  third  chapter,  which  is  sufficiently 
accurate  to  answer  our  purpose.  Looking  along  its 
southern  part  he  will  observe  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Lago  Maggiore,  the  town  of  Luino,  that  marks 
the  beginning  of  our  journey.  A  little  south  is 
Agno,  and  farther  east  Luganno.  Going  east  still, 
to  the  bend  of  the  Tocsin  river,  is  Bellinzona,  from 
which  point,  following  the  course  of  the  same  river, 
we  continue  our  journey  up  the  mountains. 

Three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  we 
have  left  behind  us  all  evidences  of  a  tropical  cli- 
mate !  The  vine,  olive,  and  fig  tree  have  given 
place  to  clumps  of  maple,  walnut,  chestnut,  and 
beech,  these  in  their  turn,  by  forests  of  larches  and 
pines,  inhabited  by  the  bear,  the  lynx,  and  the  wild- 
cat. The  trees  are  gradually  growing  smaller,  the 
air  colder,  and  we  have  on  our  furs. 

Grace,  has  donned  a  complete  suit  of  sable,  and 
gone  into  the  coup^,  not  even  asking  for  a  sight  of 
the  outside,  contented  to  listen  to  the  conversation 
of  the  Professor,  who  is  entertaining  his  company 


MOUNTAINS.  109 

with  an  account  of  glaciers,  and  peaks,  and  passes. 
"  She  took  rather  nice  furs  ?  Didn't  cost  less  than 
one  thousand  dollars.  You  read  that  the  other 
day."  You  are  right  George.  The  Russian  sable 
commands  a  high  price,  because  it  is  the  only  fur 
the  hairs  of  which  look  equally  smooth  turned  in 
any  direction.  In  winter,  when  the  animal  is  taken, 
the  fur  is  a  beautiful  black,  and  in  its  natural  state 
has  a  bloomy  appearance.  When  it  is  dyed,  which 
may  be  detected  in  two  ways,  either  by  rubbing  it 
with  a  moist  linen  cloth,  or  noticing  the  twisted, 
crisped  condition  of  its  fur,  it  is  not  so  desirable. 
Sometimes  it  is  colored  with  smoke.  This  can  be 
detected  by  the  smell. 

Yes,  she  took  the  most  expensive.  I  think  home 
products  just  as  warm,  and  so  will  brave  this  arctic 
climate  with  Hudson  Bay  sable,  at  much  less  cost, 
I  think,  or,  even  be  contented  with  the  fine  imita- 
tion of  it,  the  stone  marten,  which  the  French  dye 
so  successfully. 

Lilie  thinks  she  will  patronize  America,  too,  so 
she  will  take  the  mink.     Mabel  will  look  to  a  high- 


110  MOUxYTAINS. 

priced  American  fur,  and  chooses  the  black  fox. 
Nellie  and  Florence  will  have  ermine,  it  is  so  aris- 
tocratic, has  such  rich  associations,  liaving  been 
worn  only  by  judges  and  members  of  royal  families. 

Ah  !  little  girls,  true  royalty  is  not  always  among 
the  rich  and  royal  of  the  earth.  Some  poor  peasant 
girl  that  "  acts  well  her  part,"  may  in  God's  eye  be 
more  truly  noble  than  any  of  these ;  neither  does  it 
follow  because  they  are  rich  that  they  are  not  noble. 

Charley  says  "  he  shall  take  the  fur  of  the  fisher, 
because  that  is  a  North  American  animal."  It  re- 
sembles the  fox,  is  rich  and  soft  of  a  dark  brown  or 
blackish  color. 

Willie  will  have  seal.  He  does  not  care  if  it  al- 
ways is  dyed,  dyeing  makes  it  look  better.  It  has 
to  be  sent  to  England,  for  the  secret  of  coloring  it 
so  cunningly,  is  only  known  there. 

Laura  will  go  to  South  America  for  hers,  she 
likes  chinchilla,  if  little  girls  have  worn  it  a  long 
time,  she.  is  a  little  girl  yet.  "  She  says  the  chin- 
chilla resembles  the  squirrel  and  the  rabbit,  and  is 
found  in  the  cold  mountains  of  Peru  and  Chili." 


MOUNTAINS.  Ill 

Hiram  will  take  the  lynx  skin.  "  Doesn't  mind 
if  it  is  always  dyed  black."  But  it  is  always  worn 
by  ladies  in  mourning  ! 

"  Well,  then,  I  just  will  roll  myself  up  in  a  buffalo 
or  a  bear  skin,  for  that  is  all  I  know  about,"  he 
says,  and  with  head  and  ears  covered  from  the  cold, 
we  all  go  into  the  interior. 

Hiram  says,  "  He  might  have  taken  the  white 
fox  skin,  with  its  long,  fine  wool ;  he  wouldn't  care 
if  it  was  used  only  for  sleigh  robes,  all  he  wants 
just  now  is  to  keep  warm.  Ugh !  isn't  it  cold 
though  .? " 

Yes  ;  we  are  nearly  five  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea  level.  Nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  few  beeches, 
stunted  pines,  rhododendrons,  willow  herbs,  juniper 
trees,  and  the  ragged  mountain  side ! 


112  MOUNTAINS. 


CHAPTER    XIII, 


CHARMING    THE    BEAR. 


The  interior  is  well  filled.  An  American  mother 
is  just  telling  a  story  to  her  little  boy,  that'  we 
become  at  once  interested  in. 

"  Once  u[)on  a  time,  there  dwelt  in  Sicily,  in  that 
famous  wood  where  grows  a  chestnut  tree  so  large 
as  to  shelter  a  hundred  horses  at  once,  a  colony  of 
brownies.  They  had  heard  that  away  up  here  in 
the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  there  were  bears. 
Now,  one  bright  moonlight  night,  some  of  the  most 
adventurous  of  them  proposed  to  come  to  this  coun- 
try, and,  if  possible,  charm  a  bear  into  visiting  their 
beautiful  island,  perhaps  he  might  be  prevailed 
upon  to  stay  with  them.  So  four  of  them  started. 
Lillia  was  drawn  on  a  golden  cloud  from  Mt.  Etna 
by  six  glow  worms.     She  looked  very  beautiful  as 


•  MO  U NT  A  INS.  113 

she  came  along,  with  her  golden  hair  floating  in  a 
long  mass  of  ripples  behind,  and  a  bright  silver  but- 
terfly set  with  shining  brilliants  on  her  forehead. 
Her  robes  were  flowing  and  graceful,  and  she  car- 
ried in  her  hand  a  wand,  such  as  becomes  fairies. 
Arista  was  borne  along  on  a  sheaf  of  wheat  in  As- 
per's  chariot  of  wind  ;  and  Andra  came  after,  gaily 
striding  a  thistle.  On,  on  they  came  over  the  blue 
Mediterranean,  over  the  Appenines,  through  Italy 
into  Switzerland  among  the  Alps,  where,  pretty 
tired  and  out  of  breath,  they  rested  at  the  foot  and 
on  the  limbs  of  an  old  beech  tree. 

By  and  by  a  bear  came  out  of  his  nest  near  by, 
and  Lillia  says,  '  Oh !  bear,  brown  bear,  I  love 
thee.' 

Bruin  heard  something,  he  did  not  know  what — 
for  the  brownies  hid  themselves — and  he  kept  still, 
so  still ;  but  he  could  see  nothing,  so  he  ventured 
nearer  to  the  tree,  and  Lillia  said  again,  '  Oh  bear, 
brown  bear,  I  love  thee,  come  go  with  me  to  my 
chestnut  tree  in  Sicily,'  and  the  bear  listened  again, 
but  saw  nothing  ;  then  he  stood  up  on  his  hind 
legs  close  to  tiie  tree,  put  up  his  ears,  opened  his 


114  MOUNTAINS." 

mouth,  and  raised  his  paws,  listening — listening — 
and  Arista  spoke,  '  Oli  bear,  brown  bear,  we  love 
thee,  come  go  with  us  to  Sicily.  You  shall  have 
honey,  and  figs,  and  olives.' 

The  bear  heard  and  was  just  going  to  turn,  when 
Arista  threw  a  silken  thread  over  his  head,  drawing 
him  back  gently  to  the  tree,  and  Asper  and  Andra 
said,  '  Oh  !.  bear,  brown  bear,  our  mistress  loves 
thee,  go  with  her  to  sunny  Sicily  ;  you  shall  have 
chestnuts,  and  wine,  and  milk,'  and  they  threw  a 
thread  over  his  paw  and  drew  him  softly  back 
toward  the  tree.  Then  Lillia  put  out  her  wand, 
and  Bruin  was  so  charmed  that  he  never  noticed 
two  little  children  that  had  lost  their  way  and  sud- 
denly come  upon  him  in  the  wood." 

"But  the  bear  didn't  go,  oh!  no;  and  the 
brownies  were  soon  satisfied  that  he  would  not  be 
happy  in  their  island,  and  his  country  was  too 
cold  a  place  for  them  ;  so  they  danced  awhile. 
Bruin  learned  their  steps,  taught  all  the  other  bears, 
and  since  then,  a  bear  dance  has  been  quite  the 
fashion  among  all  genteel  bears." 

"  Other  bears  besides  brown  ones."     There  are 


MOUNTAINS.  115 

many  ;  the  polar,  or  white  bear,  found  in  the  polar 
regions  ;  the  grizzly  bear,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
mountains  ;  the  black  bear,  inhabiting  the  Appa- 
lachian mountain ;  the  cinnamon  bear;  the  Asiatic, 
or  sloth  bear  ;  the  Syrian  bear,  the  one  alluded  to 
in  scriptures,  gentle  in  disposition,  found  now  in 
Palestine ;  the  spectacled  bear  in  the  Chilian  Andes, 
and  some  others.  The  grizzly  bear  is  said  to.  be 
the  hardest  to  kill. 

Bears  are  said  to  be  very  affectionate.  A  mother 
bear  will  allow  itself  to  be  killed  rather  than  leave 
dead  bodies  of  its  cubs  or  mate,  and  they  will  not 
touch  food,  though  starving,  that  their  cubs  cannot 
take. 

The  bear  hugs  its  prey  to  death,  and  the  black 
bear  never  attacks  man,  except  in  self-defense,  and 
not  then,  unless  he  sees  no  other  way  of  escape. 

Bears  are  very  social  and  can  be  easily  tamed. 
There  is  an  account  somewhere  of  two  that  were 
harnessed  into  a  team  and  made  to  draw  heavy 
loads. 

The  weight  of  the  brown  bear  varies  from  seven 
to  eight  hundred  pounds  when  fine,  ordinarily, 
weighing  from  five  to  six  hundred. 


116  MOUNTAINS. 

The  bear  remains  in  his  den  from  the  last  of  Oc- 
tober to  April,  This  is  called  hibernating,  and  it 
has  always  been  supposed  that  it  took  no  food  dur- . 
ing  this  time  ;  but,  according  to  Dr.  Kane,  this  is 
not  tlie  fact.  However,  the  polar  bear  may  diifer 
from  others,  and  take  his  food  when  it  is  most  con- 
venient. 

We  enjoy  the  story,  but  Willie  wants  to  know 
before  it  is  fairly  finished,  why  it  is  so  much  colder 
up  here  on  the  mountain-top,  than  it  was  in  the 
valley. 

Well,  sir,  suppose,  some  icy  morning  in  winter, 
you  should  take  it  into  your  wise  head  to  crawl  out 
from  under  your  bed-clothes  and  lie  on  the  outside 
of  the  bed. 

"  Have  we  crept  out  of  our  blankets  } " 

That  is  just  what  we  have  done.  The  atmos- 
phere clothes  the  earth  as  with  a  blanket  for  a  dis- 
tance of  forty-five  or  fifty  miles.  Think  what  a 
weight  of  blankets  ;  fifty  miles  !  Do  you  not  think 
the  lower  ones  would  be  rather  warmer  or  thicker 
than  those  above ,''  You  understand  the  higher  we 
rise  in  the  air,  the  less  weight  is  above  and  the  thin- 
ner the  covering ;  the  thinner  the  covering  the  colder 


MOUNTAINS.  117 

we  shall  feel.  This  is  not,  however,  the  only  rea- 
son ;  the  direction  of  the  winds  have  something  to 
do  with  it,  and  there  are  other  reasons  that  you  will 
understand  better  when  you  have  studied  more. 
The  air  at  the  top  of  Pike's  Peak,  one  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  is  much  warmer  than  that  of  Mt.  Wash- 
ington, though  the  latter  is  but  little  more  than 
half  as  high. 

"  Shall  we  not  go  outside  .-* "  Yes  ;  much  rather 
be  outside.  We  must,  like  the  Russians,  rub  each 
other's  noses  if  they  are  likely  to  freeze.  Here  we 
are  at  the  very  tip-top,  and  have  left  behind  all  signs 
of  vegetation,  except  the  few  little  flowers  that 
brave  frost  and  snow,  a  few  stunted  pines,  and  ju- 
nipers, the  latter  ever  seeking  the  shelter  of  some 
friendly  rock  from  the  cold  winds. 

We  have  neglected  to  notice  the  little  Alpine 
flowers  in  passing.  You  did  not  know  that  we 
should  see  many  that  would  remind  us  of  home, 
did  you .''  Charlie  and  Nellie  would  almost  have 
been  willing  to  encounter  an  uncharmed  bear  to 
pick  the  violets  and  anemones  that  grow  in  some 
of  the  rich  woods.    Let  me  think.    I  have  seen  five 


118  MOUNTAIXS. 

different  varieties  of  that  charming  little  wind-flow- 
er, one  or  two  of  them  much  larger  than  ours  ;  be- 
sides buttercups,  the  golden  cinqufoil,  the  geum, 
the  star  cudweed,  all  dressed  in  straw-colored  vel- 
vet as  becomes  such  a  cold  climate,  three  varieties 
of  the  blue  gentian  ;  the  Alpine  honeysuckle ;  the 
Alpine  rose,  that  flourishes  even  in  the  highest  al- 
titudes ;  the  saxifrages,  and  the  charming  thrift 
with  its  pink  flowers  gracefully  placed  on  a  cushion 
of  moss  ;  while,  all  along,  the  mountain  sides  have 
been  perfumed  with  wild  thyme,  rosemary,  and 
mountain  lavender. 

Grace,  too !  Tired  of  the  coupe  ?  Nor  of  the 
Professor  ? 

"Oh,  no!  He  has  been  talking  about  glaciers 
and  cities  buried  in  the  lakes  of  this  country  !  He 
says,  at  least  I  understood  him  to  say,  that  there 
were  cities  belonging  to  two  different  ages,  ages  of 
which  we  know  nothing  more  than  we  learn  from 
the  buried  cities  themselves,  buried  in  these  lakes, 
one  below  another !  I  could  not  wait  to  hear  it 
all,  I  was  so  anxious  to  talk  with  you  about  it." 

Not  more  surprised  than  I  was  to  read  about  it. 


MOUNTAINS.  119 

There  are  two  kinds  of  lake  cities  ;  one  built  on  a 
foundation  of  reeds  and  tree-stems  ;  another,  called 
pile  dwellings,  built  on  platforms  supported  by  piles 
driven  into  the  lake  bottom. 

They  represent  all  stages  of  civilization  from  the 
stone  to  the  iron  age.  In  the  canton  Zurich  a  city 
was  found  from  which  they  took  *  "  mealing  and 
hearth  stones,  eight  pounds  of  wheat  and  barley 
bread,  burnt  apples,"  why  the  apples  should  be 
burnt  I  do  not  understand,  "  beechnuts,  acorns, 
cherry-stones,  a  canoe  twelve  feet  long,  and  it  was 
especially  rich  in  bronze  relics,  hatchets,  knives, 
spear  heads,  pins,  needles,  fish  hooks,"  etc. 

In  Lake  Neufchatel  were  remains  of  the  iron 
age,  ornamented  iron,  as  well  as  rings,  balls  and 
beads  of  glass. 

Yes,  the  mountain  was  right.  This  is  a  pretty 
old  world,  and  we  know,  as  yet,  very  little  of  its 
history ! 

"  The  Professor  said  f%ere  were  some  glaciers 
known  to  be  from  five  hundred  to  six  thousand  feet 
thick ! " 

*  Encyclopedia  Americana. 


120  MOUNTAINS. 

Yes,  the  great  Humboldt  glacier  in  Greenland, 
spoken  of  by  Dr.  Kane,  is  of  such  colossal  dimen- 
sions as  that. 

An  ice  river.  It  really  does  flow  down  the 
mountain  sides.  We  shall  soon  come  to  it,  the 
glacier  of  St.  Anna,  between  Hospenthal  and  An- 
dermatt,  after  we  cross  the  mountain  pass.  You 
will  understand  why  it  should  be  called  a  river, 
when  you  think  of  the  immense  weight  of  ice  at 
the  beginning  of  the  glacier,  pressing  upon  that  of 
a  lower  plain ;  that  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  with 
more  force  upon  some  parts  than  others ;  and 
strange  to  say,  the  ice  nearer  the  earth  is  warmer 
than  that  above  ;  that  these  and  other  causes  oper- 
ate to  thaw  a  part,  and  you  know  water  is  one  of 
the  things  that  cold  expands,  so  of  course  when  the 
ice  melts  it  contracts,  then  the  frozen  parts  crawl 
up,  almost  as  a  worm  throws  itself  along  by  alter- 
nate stretchings  and  contractions. 

Six  thousand  feet  office  crawling  along  the 
ground !  What  a  crushing  weight !  Suppose, 
George,  you  were  to  slide  over  your  mother's  parlor 
floor  after  the  carpets  were  taken  up,  with  nails  in 


MOUNTAINS.  121 

your  boot  toes  and  heels.  "  Scratch  it ! "  I  think 
you  would  a  little. 

Well,  these  great  ice  rivers  have  scratched  all 
along  all  the  valleys  of  both  continents,  and  have 
left  the  marks  of  the  great  nails  in  their  boot  heels 
and  toes  wherever  they  have  slidden.  Sometimes, 
instead  of  scratching,  they  have  polished  as  smooth- 
ly as  a  graver's  tool  the  stones  over  which  they 
have  passed.  Traces  of  these  rivers  exist  in  Amer- 
ica and  Europe,  so  that  geologists  have  come  to 
think  that  at  one  time  this  whole  continent  lay 
many  feet  under  snow  and  ice ;  indeed,  that  the 
whole  of  New  England  was  buried  six  thousand  feet 
deep  in  it,  and  only  Mt.  Washington  was  able  to 
raise  its  head  above  it !  Study  for  yourselves,  dear 
children,  but  do  not  worry  to  learn  faster  than  is 
pleasant  and  easy.  There  is  time  enough  for  every- 
thing, if  we  are  not  idle,  and  what  we  know  not 
now  we  shall  learn  hereafter.  So  improve  every 
advantage  for  study  and  observation  thrown  in  your 
way,  and  be  good  boys  and  girls. 

Now  we  pass  the  glacier  of  St.  Anna.  How  its 
icy  waves  glitter  in  the  sunlight !  That  old  man 
9 


122  MOUNTAINS. 

you  seem  to  see  in  the  far  distance  is  a  hard-hearted 
one  ;  he  is  made  of  stone.  Avalanches  from  the 
mountain  side  precipitate  many  large  rocks  and 
stones  into  the  valleys.  Those  that  fall  upon  gla- 
ciers so  obstruct  the  rays  of  the  sun  that  the  ice 
does  not  melt  under  them,  and  they  are  left,  like 
monuments  upon  its  surface,  several  feet  above  the 
ice  level. 

The  motion  of  glaciers  has  been  determined  by 
noticing  the  position  of  these  ice  marks  from  time 
to  time. 

Our  route  lies  over  a  bridge  which  is  a  most 
wonderful  work  of  art.  It  is  said  to  have  been  con- 
structed under  the  direction  of  a  monk,  and  consists 
of  a  single  arch  thrown  over  the  river  Reuss,  which 
tumbles  and  foams  so  violently  as  to  have  baffled 
all  efforts  to  bridge  it  before.  Because  he  was  suc- 
cessful, either  in  sport  or  earnest,  most  likely  the 
former,  the  people  said  he  was  inspired  by  the  devil, 
and  so  it  received  the  name  of  the  Devil's  Bridge. 

From  this  point  to  Aamstaag  the  scenery  is  very 
wild  !  Yonder  is  a  whole  forest  of  pines,  thrown 
down  by  an  avalanche;  trees  are  seen  more  than  a 


MOUNTAINS.  123 

hundred  feet  long,  shorn  of  their  leaves,  interlaced 
by  debris  of  rock  in  a  thousand  grotesque  ways, 
with  the  water  circling  about  them,  and  here  and 
there  falling  in  sparkling  cascades. 

The  road  winds  along  by  the  side  of  the  river, 
which  rolls  its  waters  over  a  bed  very  deep  and 
much  broken.  This  river  is  often  crossed  by  flying 
bridges,  which  are  constructed  on  a  principle  that 
Grace  understands,  I  think  ;  that  of  two  forces 
moving  upon  an  object  in  opposite  directions,  the 
object  acted  upon  moves  in  a  line  between  them. 
A  barge  is  anchored  by  a  long  cable  touching  the 
wharf  with  its  side.  When,  with  a  boat-hook,  it  is 
pushed  off,  the  river  current  propels  it  down  stream, 
the  cable  draws  it  the  other  way,  and  so  it  goes 
very  surely  between  these  opposing  forces  to  the 
other  side. 

Passing  the  Paffensburg,  another  bridge,  and  one 
of  such  marvellous  height  that  you  hold  your  breath, 
we  come  upon  the  little  village  of  Aamstaag,  and 
we  are  in  the  plain  again. 

One  cannot  too  much  admire  the  enterprise  of  a 


124 


MOUNTAINS. 


people  that  have  overcome  such  difficulties  as  have 
these  brave  mountaineers ! 


Aldtorf  and  letters. 

"  James  Badger  has  become  an  Adventist.  I  vis- 
ited his  family.  He  is  very  strict  in  the  observance 
of  the  seventh  day,  and  very  good." 

This  reminds  me,  Grace,  of  what  we  were  talking 
about  the  other  day.  That  all  these  different  sects 
were  all  right,  and  all  wrong.  If  the  people  that 
compose  them  are  good,  it  is  but  the  few,  perhaps, 
that  ambition  alone  governs,  why  is  not  that  diver- 
sity where  each  one  receives  the  spiritual  food  nec- 
essary for  his  growth,  better  for  society  "i 

"  Shall  be  glad  when  we  get  home."  And  so 
shall  we. 


WILLIAM  TELL.  125 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

WILLIAM   TELL. 

In  Aldtorf,  meanirrg  old  village,  situated  near 
Lake  Lucern,  is  shown  the  square  where  William 
Tell  performed  his  famous  feat  of  archery.  He  was 
the  son-in-law,  you  remember,  of  Walter  Furst,  one 
of  the  three  patriots  who  first  formed  the  design  of 
freeing  their  country  from  the  despotism  of  Albert. 

The  story,  as  it  is  related  by  the  Swiss,  is  some- 
what embellished,  no  doubt,  and  runs  in  this  wise. 

The  tyrant,  Gessler,  a  baillie,  or  governor  of  Al- 
bert's, not  content  with  exacting  the  most  humilia- 
ting respect  to  himself,  had  caused  to  be  raised  in 
the  public  square  at  Aldtorf,  a  pole,  upon  the  top 
of  which  was  placed  a  cap,  supposed  by  some  to  be 
the  ducal  cap  of  Austria.  To  this  cap  he  required 
the  same  honors  as  to  himself. 

One  day,  William,  or  as  he  was  called,  Giullaume, 

lO 


126  WILLIAM  TELL. 

Tell,  was  walking  in  the  square,  conversing  with 
his  little  son.  Affecting  not  to  notice  the  cap,  he 
passed  many  times  without  paying  it  any  attention. 

His  little  boy,  feeling  the  sadness  which  op- 
pressed his  father,  said,  "  Father,  what  lies  beyond 
the  mountains  }  Why  do  we  not  go  there  and  be 
happier .?  Can  we  not  live  there  better  than  with 
these  odious  governors,  who  oppress  us  so  ? " 

"  No  ;  my  son.  The  land  there  is  indeed  fertile, 
and  would  yield  us  an  abundance  of  corn,  and  oil, 
and  wine  ;  the  skies  are  sunny,  but  the  country  be- 
longs to  others  ;  we  must  hope  and  strive  for  better 
times  here." 

Scarcely  had  he  spoken  thus,  when  an  order 
came  for  him  to  appear  before  the  tyrant  Gessler, 
who  asked  him  "  How  he  dared  to  disobey  him  } " 

"  Because  I  am  free,"  replied  Tell,  without  any 
emotion  ;  "  such  acts  of  submission  are  only  for 
slaves." 

The  tyrant,  transported  with  fury,  swore  he 
would  punish  him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  all 
others  fear  to  follow  his  example.  He  immediately 
ordered  Tell's  son  to  be  brought,  and,  turning  to 


WILLIAM  TELL.  127 

the  father,  said,  "  I  hear  you  are  the  most  wonder- 
ful archer  in  my  province.  Give  me  a  proof  of 
your  skill  by  shooting  this  apple  from  the  head  of 
your  son,"  thinking  within  himself  that  if  the  father 
killed  the  son  it  would  be  a  good  and  sufficient 
reason  for  taking  his  life  as  a  parricide. 

Tell  could  have  braved  the  most  horrible  tor- 
ments ;  but  this  chilled  the  blood  within  him,  and 
he  threw  himself  at  Gessler's  feet  begging  him  not 
to  make  him  the  murderer  of  his  own  son. 

The  inflexible  governor  renewed  his  infamous  or- 
der, in  a  menacing  tone,  adding,  that  if  he  disobeyed 
both  should  die  ;  and  the  unhappy  father,  with  a 
despairing  heart,  embraced  his  son,  blinded  his 
eyes,  placed  him  at  the  distance  required  and  com- 
manded him  to  be  motionless  ;  then  raising  his 
eyes  he  implored  the  assistance  of  Heaven.  Taking 
from  his  quiver  two  arrows,  he  concealed  one  under 
his  coat,  and  placed  the  otijer,  wet  with  his  tears, 
in  his  bow. 

Already,  the  ferocious  Gessler  enjoys  his  triumph, 
when  he  sees  Tell,  with  a  trembling  hand,  adjust 
the  apple  placed  on  the  head  of  his  son ;  but  his 


128  WILLIAM  TELL. 

cruel  hopes  were  not  realized.  Heaven  has  listened 
to  the  prayers  of  Tell.  The  arrow  flies,  the  apple 
is  hit,  the  child  is  safe,  and  the  air  resounds  with 
the  acclamations  of  the  people. 

Gessler,  more  furious  than  ever,  despairs  of  find- 
ing any  other  pretext  for  his  vengeance,  when  he 
perceives  the  arrow  that  Tell  had  concealed,  fall 
from  under  his  coat,  and  demands  to  know  for  what 
it  was  intended. 

Tell,  not  able  to  control  his  indignation,  replied, 
"To  kill  thee,  tyrant,  had  I  slain  my  son." 

Gessler  caused  him  to  be  instantly  seized,  and, 
lest  he  should  be  rescued  by  his  friends  at  Aldtorf, 
he  had  him  conveyed  to  his  chateau  at  Kusnach, 
where  he  could  have  the  pleasure  of  torturing  him 
for  a  long  time. 

The  boat  which  was  conveying  him  to  his  prison 
had  made  half  the  distance,  and  Tell  saw  himself 
near  the  plain  of  Gruntli,  where  the  conspiracy  was 
formed,  when  one  of  those  impetuous  winds,  which 
troubles  often  the  navigation  of  this  lake,  rose  with 
such  violence  as  to  endanger  the  safety  of  all  their 


WILLIAM  TELL  129 

lives.     All,  except  Tell,  were  in  the  most  profound 
consternation.     Death  appeared  inevitable. 

At  the  sight  of  danger,  Gessler,  who  knew  the 
strength  and  dexterity  of  Tell,  released  him  from 
his  fetters  and  begged  him  to  guide  the  boat. 

With  a  look  of  profound  contempt,  he  seized  the 
helm,  and  in  spite  of  the  storm,  reached  a  large 
rock  where  the  boat  could  land,  and  snatching  his 
bow  and  quiver,  he  jumped  upon  it,  repulsed  the 
boat  with  his  foot,  and  left  his  enemy  to  the  mercy 
of  the  waves ! 

However,  after  struggling  a  long  time,  Gessler 
and  his  companions  gained  the  land,  and  immedi- 
ately planned  new  tortures  for  Tell,  should  he  dis- 
cover his  retreat. 

Tell,  watching  his  enemy  from  behind  a  rock, 
sent  an  arrow  which  rid  his  country  forever  froni 
his  tyranny. 

The  news  spread  rapidly  through  the  country. 
The  courage  and  hope  of  the  people  was  roused  ; 
soon,  all  the  fortresses  and  the  governors  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  conspirators,  and  the  freedom  of 
the  country  secured  forever.     Tell  was  afterwards 


130  WILLIAM  TELL. 

drowned  in  the  river  Reuss,  as  he  was  attempting 
to  save  the  life  of  a  neighbor's  child.  At  Tell's 
chapel,  situated  on  Lake  Lucern,  the  Swiss  annu- 
ally commemorate  their  independence,  as  we  do 
ours,  by  patriotic  speeches,  bell  ringings,  guns,  and 
dinners.  The  anniversary  occurs  on  a  Sabbath  in 
July.  As  with  us,  there  are  two  political  parties, 
but  not  as  with  us,  one  of  them,  I  am  told,  is  so  de- 
cidedly undemocratic  as  to  care  little  for  the  dem- 
onstrations. 

This  fountain  marks  the  spot  where  stood  the 
tree  on  which  the  ducal  cap  was  hung,  and  to  which 
Tell's  boy  was  bound.  The  tree,  it  is  said,  remained 
there  three  hundred  years  after  the  event.  Behind 
it  is  the  tower,  with  records  dating  back  more  than 
half  a  century.  Across  the  lake,  among  the  ledges 
of  rocks,  is  the  little  plain  of  Gruntli,  of  especial  in- 
terest to  all  patriots. 

Although  William  Tell  well  deserves  all  his  hon- 
ors, the  story  of  Arnold  Winkelreid  merits  an 
honorable  mention,  when  we  speak  of  the  struggles 
of  these  brave  mountaineers  to  hold  that  liberty 
which  Tell's  bravery  and  sagacity  secured. 


WILLIAM  TELL.  131 

It  was  sometime  later  in  the  history  of  confed- 
eracy, that  the  free  cities  leagued  themselves  against 
the  encroachment  of  Leopold  and  the  Lords. 

At  a  certain  battle,  that  of  Sambuch,  when  Leo- 
pold's forces  seemed  about  to  carry  the  day,  this 
man,  committing  his  wife  and  children  to  the  care 
of  his  comrades,  sprang  forward,  grasped  as  many 
of  the  steel  lances  as  he  could  in  his  arms,  receiving 
their  thrusts  into  his  broad  chest,  dragged  them  with 
him,  and  died  a  victim  to  his  heroic  devotion. 

The  Swiss  passing  in  crowds  over  his  body, 
threw  themselves  into  the  opening  he  made,  and  by 
the  impetuosity  pf  their  attack,  gained  again  the 
victory  for  their  countrymen. 

This  memorable  day  cost  the  Austrians  their 
Emperor  and  two  thousand  men,  while  the  Swiss 
lost  but  two  hundred,  and  its  brave  magistrate,  Ar- 
nold Winkelreid ! 

Such  deeds  of  valor  and  patriotism  should  awaken 
in  us  all  like  sentiments. 

The  time  may  come  in  the  history  of  our  own 
fair  land,  when  political  corruption  shall  set  its  ugly 
seal  upon  the  foreheads  of  those  to  whom  we  look 


132 


WILLIAM  TELL. 


for  wisdom  and  uprightness  ;  and  the  tree  from 
that  "  root  of  all  evil "  so  overshadow  every  sense  of 
justice  and  right  in  their  hearts,  that  a  greater  ty- 
ranny than  a  Gessler,  or  any  other  tyrant  ever 
imposed,  shall  settle  upon  its  citizens. 

Then,  from  among  your  ranks,  little  children, 
must  arise  another  Arnold  Winkelreid,  willing  to 
gather  the  points  of  the  enemies'  lances  in  his 
hands,  that  over  the  dead  hopes  of  one  strong  life, 
the  banner  of  truth  shall  be  borne  on  to  certain 
victory. 


CREEP.  133 


CHAPTER    XV. 

CREEP. 

Sweet  little  bird,  whence  did  you  come  ? 
In  mdssy  nest  in  woodland  glade, 
By  river  bank,  or  forest  shade, 

Makest  thou  thy  home  ? 

Strange  little  bird  !     Why  did  you  roam 
From  mossy  nest  in  woodland  glade, 
By  river  bank,  or  forest  shade, 

Where  was  thy  home  ? 

Dear  little  bird,  or,  hast  thou  strayed 
From  gilded  cage  in  ladies'  bower 
Where  thou  wert  kept,  to  while  an  hour 

Away,  for  little  maid  ? 

Shy  little  bird,  what  is  thy  name  ? 
Thy  slender  bill,  and  plumage  rare. 
With  sparrows,  swallows  won't  compare ; 

They're  not  the  same. 


134  CREEP. 

Poor  little  bird !  what  seek'st  thou  here  ? 
Dost  not  love  best,  thy  leafy  nest 
In  shady  wood,  where,  for  thy  food  thou  search'st 

With  mate  so  dear  ? 

And  this  is  the  song  the  little  bird  sang, 
As  he  flew  round  my  room  ; 

As  he  tripped,  and  he  climbed  his  little  trill  rang 
Without  thought  of  his  doom. 

"  I  come  from  the  woodland. 
Where,  all  the  long  days 

Of  summer,  my  lays  resound  with  the  praise 
Of  Him,  who  created  and  fashioned  my  ways  ; 

Who,  told  me  to  build  without  any  fear 

A  nest  in  the  hemlock,  no  matter  how  queer 

It  was  woven ;  of  grass,  or  of  moss,  or  of  leaves. 

So  it  screened  our  seven  treasures  from  the  eyes  of  all  thieves. 

Now,  this  is  why  I  am  here. 

'Tis  the  last  of  the  year,  and  before  I  appear 

At  the  south,  where  I  go,  I  want  the  children  to  know 

At  the  north,  that  I  love,  though  I  leave  them. 

That  their  winter  snows 

Would  redden  my  nose,  and  freeze  my  poor  toes. 

Then,  "  under  the  rose,"  away  from  these  foes, 

I'll  make  my  nest,  where  I  think  best ; 

And  Kris  Kringle  will  tell  you  the  rest." 


CREEP.  135 

At  home !  We  have  enjoyed  the  trip,  at  least,  I 
have.  This  beautiful,  soft,  hazy  October  morning, 
how  pleasant  it  is  to  be  at  home  !  Take  your  fill 
of  it,  ye  little  ones  that  have  never  kn(;wn  the  want 
of  a  mother's  love,  or  a  father's  providence.  Eat 
your  nice  breakfasts,  and  out  with  you,  into  the 
fresh  air.  Live  like  the  birds,  while  you  may,  and 
be  thankful  for  that  protecting  care  that  has  allowed 
neither  "  harm  nor  the  fear  of  it,  to  approach  thy 
dwelling." 

Miss  Ilsley,  Mrs.  Parker,  Mary,  come  quick ! 
Here  is  a  bird  in  my  room  !  And  they  all  come. 
Miss  Ilsley  cannot  tell  what  it  is,  she  is  sure  ;  Mrs. 
Parker  thinks  it  is  a  swallow  ;  Mary  thinks  it  is  a 
bird !  It  is  a  bird,  with  a  bill  something  like  a 
woodpecker,  a  tail  like  a  swallow,  and  feathers  like 
chinchilla  fur,  except  the  gray  and  white  is  mottled 
with  a  lovely  brown.  A  delicate  little  creature.  It 
cannot  be  a  swallow,  nor  a  sparrow,  and  nobody  in 
the  house  knows  what  it  is. 

Where  did  you  come  from,  little  bird,  and  what 
did  you  come  for  ? 

Oh !  you  are  willing  to  tell  me,  but  I  cannot  un- 


136  CREEP. 

derstand  that  faint  little  whistle.  You  are  not 
afraid,  nor  need  you  be.  I  shall  ask  the  children 
what  they  know  about  it.  Perhaps  it  is  a  wood- 
pecker. 

"  Woodpeckers  are  black  and  white,"  says  one 
little  boy  ;  and  a  little  girl  says,  "  She  is  sure  it  is 
a  female  woodpecker." 

It  must  have  escaped  from  some  cage.  See  how 
familiarly  it  climbs  up  on  my  arm  ;  now  it  trips 
round  the  room  so  quick,  and  so  quietly  ;  now  up 
the  window,  climbing  as  easily  as  a  young  sailor  up 
to  the  mast-head.  Look  at  its  toes.  They  are 
made  for  climbing  and  clinging. 

Nobody  has  lost  such  a  bird.  Can  I  borrow  a 
cage  just  for  a  day,  while  I  observe  its  habits  "*. 

Thank  you,  sir,  I  will  keep  it  only  a  day,  and 
then  you  may  have  the  cage  and  the  bird  too.  But 
it  will  die,  something  tells  me,  you  have  no  right  to 
give  its  liberty  to  another. 

The  bird  died,  though  I  left  it  with  food  and 
water  in  abundance.  It  died  all  alone  while  I  was 
away,  and  was  never  even  caged,  but  enjoyed  the 


CREEP.  137 

liberty  of  the  room  as  my  guest.  I  dreamed,  last 
night,  that  I  had  neglected  to  feed  it  for  several 
days,  and  it  died  of  starvation  !  How  ugly  I  felt ! 
But,  as  I  was  gazing  at  the  little  pet,  dead  in  my 
hand,  it  grew  into  a  beautiful  rose,  which,  when  I 
woke,  was  shedding  its  fragrance  into  my  dream- 
land room. 

I  learned  that  Creep  came  from  the  woods,  where 
he  had  a  little  house  on  a  hemlock  tree  made  of 
leaves  and  moss  ;  that  he  was  one  of  a  family  of 
seven  by  the  name  of  Creeper,  and  his  name  was 
Cytherea ;  that  he  knew  when  he  was  among 
friends,  and  was  not  at  all  selfish,  but  would  sing, 
or  frolic,  or  creep,  or  climb  about  as  cheerfully  as  at 
home  ;  that  he  is  as  shy,  and  as  nimble,  and  as  dif- 
ficult to  catch,  as  a  squirrel,  unless  come  upon 
unawares,  and  his  fears  excited. 

"  How  do  birds  fly .?  " 

Do  you  see  that  little  pink  toy  balloon,  that  but 
for  its  string  would  soon  be  out  of  sight }  Birds 
are  not  like  that  exactly,  because  that  has  no  life, 
being  filled  with  hydrogen  gas,  such  as  we  light 


138  CREEP. 

our  dwellings  with,  a  life  destroyer ;  but  they  are 
like  it  in  this  way :  their  bones  are,  many  of  them, 
hollow,  and  so  connected  with  their  lungs  as  to  be 
filled  with  air  as  they  breathe,  which  makes  them 
very  light,  and  by  using  their  wings,  as  a  boatman 
does  his  oars,  they  are  pushed  up  by  the  air,  as  a 
boat  is  propelled  by  the  water. 

Died  of  starvation  !  That  ugly  dream  !  Are 
there  any  little  children,  any  mothers,  any  fathers, 
think  you,  that  will  die  of  starvation  in  this  cold 
winter,  that  is  sure  to  come  ?  You  that  have  good 
homes,  little  boys,  little  girls,  ask  your  fathers  to 
start  up  their  mills,  if  it  only  pays  dollar  for  dollar. 
Can  they  not  give  their  time  once  in  a  while  .'*  I 
know  the  mothers, 

"  With  their  needles  and  their  shears, 
Will  make  auld  clothes  look  amaist  a  weel's  the  new; " 

then  the  laborer  will  have  his  hire,  and,  "  died  of 
starvation,"  or,  worse  than  that,  "  died  in  prison," 
for  the  crime  of  being  unemployed,  or  illy  paid, 
shall  turn  into  beautiful  roses  of  prosperity  that 
shall  delight  their  eyes  and  gladden  their  hearts. 


CREEP. 


139 


Yes,  start  up  your  mills,  and  your  foundries,  and 
your  work-shops,  and  your  ship-yards,  and  trust  to 
the  good  God  whose  are  "  The  cattle  upon  a  thou- 
sand hills"  {ox your  wages. 


ERRATA. 

Page  loo,  for  Tcino,  read  Ticino. 

Page  134,  fifth  stanza,  first  line,  leave  out  the  comma  after  Now, 


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